An End in Sight
by KayleeChiara
Summary: Can the Autobots win the war? Starting from Mission City, this story is like a day-in-the-life of what happens, some politics, relationships and some romance all in the hope that maybe the war will end and that Cybertron and the AllSpark can be restored. No Slash. (This is not intended to be a fast-paced/action piece.)
1. Chapter 1 -- So What Happens Now?

This is a work of fan fiction and not intended for sale, only thing that's mine are my OCs.

Summary: Is it possible for the Autobots to win the war? Starting from Mission City, this story is like a day-in-the-life, what happens, politics, relationships, friendships, and some romance all with the hope that maybe Cybertron and the AllSpark can be restored. No Slash. (This is not intended to be a fast-paced/action story.)

_A/N: This is my first fiction and written for fun and enjoyment. If you must offer criticism do so to help improve the craft of writing or the story. Questions courteously asked will be answered, be patient as I cannot answer right away due to time commitments. Posting will be sporadic, but I will finish this._

The 'Verse: This is a mashup of G1/Prime through Bay Movies. Ex: Bay's bots expose critical connections, doesn't make survival sense so more G1 with a dash of Bay. Faces: are G1/Prime-like, not layered plates of metal. Bee is a G1 sized mini-bot, Jazz is not. Last A/N: this chapter contains info you probably already know but given the variety of different Transformers histories, I thought it would be necessary for the reader to have a historical framework within this story. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy this.

**An End in Sight**

Chapter One –So, What Happens Now?

Mission City, after frantic calls from city and state officials, was placed on top of FEMA's list for disaster relief. Devastated, headlines later proclaimed, by the worst gas line explosion in the nation's history. To a select few within the United States government and those who witnessed the event, they knew the truth. Mission City had become the nexus of an interstellar war and a quest to control an ancient alien relic the AllSpark also called the Cube. Unfortunately for Earth, this would not be the end of such battles simply a postponement of hostilities as humans and aliens, friendly and not, retreated to heal their wounds or plot revenge.

As the dust settled military, civilian, and governmental forces descended like locust upon the crippled city. For those soldiers and Autobots who survived, they used this post-battle quiet to deal with the aftermath. Soldiers and aliens alike searched the rubble carefully for the missing, rendered aid to the injured, and carefully handled the dead while examining the rubble for unexploded ordnance and other alien technology.

In the remains of a café those who participated in the fighting, led by Captain William 'Wild Bill' Lennox, set up a make-shift triage and were taking care of the injured until ambulances and medical personnel arrived. Of the civilians seeking treatment were Sam Witwicky and Mikaela Banes. Unlike those who lived and worked in Mission City, Sam and Mikaela had been active combatants due to their friendship with the aliens called Autobots. In the café, soldiers and civilians alike suffered one thing in common, shock at the realization we were no longer alone and that these aliens had technology far beyond what Earth was incapable of defending itself against.

Sam stood next to the table where one of the soldiers was cleaning and bandaging Mikaela's wounds. He crossed his arms over his chest and wondered about the events that brought them both here as he absently scratched at a recently cleaned scrape on his arm. Who would've guessed an ancestor of his would accidentally discover Megatron, the leader of the alien Decepticons, frozen in a cavern in the Arctic Circle? Or when Captain Witwicky touched the frozen behemoth a system would activate that imprinted the location of an alien artifact onto his spectacles. Or that Sam, his descendant would post a picture of said imprinted glasses on EBay unaware that these alien visitors, searching for said artifact, would see the markings on them? Unless of course you happened to be part of a secret government agency called Sector 7 who knew all about the aliens. Heck, they even had one held frozen in stasis, the Decepticon leader Megatron. Sector 7 knew a great deal about these aliens, that they possessed a unique metallic biology which allowed them to transform into different shapes. Such as the car Sam purchased, an old beat up 1976 yellow Camaro who happened to be an Autobot scout named Bumblebee that had come to Earth hoping to find the artifact, the Cube. Sadly for Sam, the photograph's quality was inadequate for these aliens to retrieve the location. If it had, Bee would have done so and Sam would've been left blissfully ignorant of their presence. So Bee was forced to find Sam, before the Decepticons did, unfortunately involving him in their war.

Sam had never, even with his whimsical imagination, would've pictured what he'd become involved in. He knew that some his age had fantasies about going to other worlds or meeting aliens. Not him, he liked things simple, predictable and mostly involving girls. If he could, he would've gladly traded places but he was a Witwicky and he stuck by Bumblebee when another might've fled. Like it or not, he sighed, he did have his grandfather's adventurous spirit but even that at times didn't help. Now standing quietly surrounded by humans it was difficult fitting his mind around everything that happened. So he just shook his head and tried his best not to think about it. Instead he watched as the medic worked on Mikaela and simply took the opportunity to admire the beauty sitting before him. _'Go figure,'_ he thought, _'it _would_ have to take an intergalactic incident to get a girl like that to look at me.'_

Mikaela sensing his attention looked up and smiled, her nose crinkled a little when she noted the bemused expression on Sam's face and rolled her eyes. Sam was definitely a first for her as she preferred either 'bad boys' or 'jocks' and Sam was neither. He was more of the typical high school geek, timid, and very awkward. Today however changed her entire perspective of the slender youth. She swallowed and looked away as she remembered with a shiver of terror hearing Optimus order Sam to put the cube in his chest as Megatron approached. Instead Sam bravely turned from the injured Autobot leader and thrust the artifact up in the air as it poured itself into the wound in Megatron's chest, killing the huge Decepticon leader.

Despite all that had just happened, there he was looking at her with that same awkwardly bemused, brown-eyed puppy dog expression she associated with his 'geek-boy has a crush on me' look. The medic patted her arm, startling her for a moment as he indicated she should go so he could attend to another. With a nod she stood and the pair walked out of the café, its windows and door completely destroyed, as they carefully stepped around debris, broken glass, and personal effects left behind by those who'd long since fled to safety.

"Hey, let's see how Bumblebee's doing," Sam said as he clasped his hand in hers. Mikaela smiled tiredly and nodded. They looked around and finally spotted the Autobot in question, who was at that moment less than pleased and expressing it quite vocally. The yellow mech was on the ground struggling, his whines clearly reflecting his distraught state, as a larger bright neon green mech was holding him down shouting back at him. Neither Sam nor Mikaela needed further encouragement as they rushed to the smaller mech's side.

"Ratchet," Sam called out as they ran up, "what's wrong with Bee?"

Once Bumblebee saw Sam and Mikaela he instantly relaxed, as relief flowed through his system. He searched his data files and then played a recorded clip of movie dialog, "wanted to make sure you're okay." Sam looked at his friend smiling as he placed a hand on Bee's huge forearm and patted it as one would in reassuring a child.

Bee rolled his optics in irritation at Sam's insistence of treated him like a sparkling. To be honest there were times he didn't always act his age around the boy but when it came to combat or protecting those he cared about he did so like the mature warrior he was. It was just a shame Sam didn't know Bee better but how could he? It was frustratingly impossible to have a deeper relationship with any human when he lacked a voice. True, he could play clips to speak but it took time and it certainly wasn't useful for heart-to-heart conversations because clips didn't convey the emotional content he needed to express. Like today, how much time would it have taken him to compile the necessary recordings to tell Sam the reason for his behavior? To tell Sam of the terror he felt because he had failed to protect Sam from his greatest nightmare Megatron. It was Megatron himself who'd taken away Bee's voice and almost his life and _he_ was a skilled soldier. Sam? Was an inexperienced, bumbling teenager, a fragile human! Bumblebee sank to the pavement, his injuries finally taking their toll.

"Yeah, buddy, that's it, just relax," Sam said in reassuring tones as he looked into Bee's large blue optics, "of course we're okay."

"This idiot wouldn't let me work on him until he had a chance to double-check and make sure you weren't injured," Ratchet said as he lightly rapped Bumblebee's helm with his fist, "he was upset at being left with the tow-truck."

Bumblebee pushed himself up, his speaker giving off an angry whir and crackling sounds as he snarled on his comms: "_How would you like your aft chained up to a stationary vehicle while everybody takes off? Besides Sam's not just my responsibility, he's my friend. Just 'cause Megatron's dead doesn't mean the rest are too!"_

Sam watched the silent exchange in confusion, "Ratchet? Bee?"

Both mechs turned and looked at the youth slightly confused and then Ratchet's face bloomed into an 'ah ha' expression as he tapped his helm, "we can communicate to one another privately. Sparky here was in guardian mode trying to get to you…"

:"_Sparky?!"_

Sam regarded his alien friend quizzically, "guardian mode?"

Ratchet ignored Sam's question as he interrupted Bumblebee's angry commed response, "yeah you, Sparky! Did you happen to take a really good look at yourself? I didn't think so. Look at your legs!" Everyone looked down at what was left of the scout's lower limbs, one was completely gone and the other was torn mid-thigh. Sparks and trail of blue fluid leaked on the pavement in a trail showing how far the mech had crawled once he'd freed himself from the tow truck as Ratchet continued to bark at his charge. "What good are you as a guardian if you bleed out? Now settle down and let me patch you up. If not, you'll be spending quality time legless and alone inside of Prime's trailer until you let me patch you up."

Bumblebee gave a huff of frustration and looked at Sam and Mikaela as he played a clip, "see what I gotta work with here?"

Mikaela looking at the injuries and patted Bumblebee's thigh or at least what remained of it and responded sarcastically, "yeah I do Bee and there isn't much here _to_ work with. And I'm sorry I left you… I was rather… distracted."

Bee snorted and played a series of sound bytes, "that's okay... Mikaela,... I understand. But it's the... mech... with the... wrench... I get no respect... from."

Mikaela, used to dealing with male posturing decided to divert the conversation by lightly punching Bumblebee as she looked up at the medic, "Ratchet, I have some experience working on cars, is there anything I can do to help?" Sam looked up at the medic hopefully.

Ratchet nodded, "well, actually yes. If you could search for his legs, anything really, while I work on the bleeding. Look for anything Cybertronian. He's missing too many system components so he won't be able transform into vehicle mode so he'll be stuck either being towed or riding in Prime's trailer."

"Sucks to be me," Bumblebee played as he fell back on the pavement with a groan.

"Sure thing," Sam said to Ratchet grateful to be of help and when he turned to his injured friend, his expression grew serious, "be patient okay Bee? We don't want to lose any more of you." The group grew quiet as they acknowledged a Cybertronian body close by. Sam's unexpectedly mature words caught Bumblebee off guard. Looking at Jazz' torn body, he whined softly in agreement. Once Sam was reassured Bumblebee would stay put, he walked off with Mikaela to comb through the debris for parts.

Optimus Prime the Autobot leader stood further down the street making an imposing red and blue flamed sentinel should the Decepticons resume their attack on the city. He turned taking note of a hastily constructed military command center while another military vehicle was dispatched with troops and barricades. He continued to move down the street monitoring his sensors for energon readings. He turned after a few paces to check on Ratchet and Bumblebee when his optics drifted over to the body of his fallen friend Jazz. Jazz was Optimus's FIC (First in Command) and good friend who had been forced to go up against Megatron alone. With only four Autobots to defend against the Decepticon attack Jazz had been left with little choice as Optimus himself had been delayed by Bonecrusher. They were lucky they had only lost Jazz but that did little to comfort Optimus.

Prime's sensors interrupted his thoughts as they picked up the arrival of several vehicles and he turned away to walk over to get a better view of what to expect. He knew they weren't Decepticons the vehicles didn't give off any energon readings so he did not bother to activate his weapons. Normally while standing guard he would, but today however, he did not out of concern for the humans who were understandably skittish and distraught given what had just happened. The vehicles stopped near the command tent, some military, some unmarked, and one a limousine. The vehicles disgorged a uniquely dressed cadre of men and women who gathered for a moment outside the tent talking to one another while occasionally glancing at him before they headed inside.

Optimus sighed knowing deep within his spark what was to come and turned away, putting off the inevitable confrontation. He continued his scans for the enemy as he searched for the fallen or injured they may've missed.

Within the newly assembled command tent various agencies from the political to the military argued as they tried to assert authority over the situation. One Army general fed up with the politicking pushed his way out of the tent with a huff and strode down the street towards the Prime. Not to be outdone, the rest of the pack followed still arguing, towards the ancient warrior. Optimus hearing the hubbub turned and waited as he watched them approach. A movie clip played in his mind echoing his sentiments, '_and so it begins_.'

With a soft vent of air he adjusted his posture as he shifted his processor from that of military commander and soldier to political leader. Although irritated at having to deal with politics now when there were still humans to look for, Optimus maintained an outward persona of calm patience. The odd assortment of leaders were apparently still trying to push themselves up on the precedence queue, as they approached the massive Prime determined to speak to him first.

Ironhide had just shifted some rubble to disarm an unexploded shell, when he looked up and noted the humans advancing upon the Prime. Ironhide turned and shouted to the men near him, "cordon off this area, live munitions. I'll be right back." Once he received an acknowledgement, he activated his cannon and moved to intercept the humans, his quick appearance caused the crowd to stop, some paled in fear, and for a moment all talking ceased.

Optimus privately commed his Second and asked dryly: _"was that really necessary?"_

_:"Heh heh. They need to know, whatever comes at you has to go through me. Ah'm your bodyguard first and foremost."_

_:"So you keep reminding me. Funny, I don't recall ever having a say in the matter."_

_:"You didn't. You'd've only said no, so ah didn't bother."_

_:"It's a wonder they made me Prime when I can't even control my own command. Regardless, I'm glad you're here, old friend."_ The conversation in Cybertronian was as fast as the blink of a human eye. As the fear which made the humans pause began to dissipate and they resumed their argument regarding authority in the matter.

:"_Look at 'em, some things don't change do they."_

_:"Sadly, no. How's Bumblebee?"_

_:"Better. Sam and Mikaela have recovered most of Bee's parts so Ratchet's having an easier time repairing him. He thinks the squirt'll be up and annoying us shortly."_

_:"That's good news. Ah, they've finally selected a leader."_

_:"Took 'em long enough."_

_:"Yes and that worries me. With so many political entities involved it will make for long and tiresome negotiations. I wonder how different things would go if I used your method of dealing with politicians,"_ joked the Prime.

In response Ironhide grinned widely and winked at Optimus as he activated his cannon's energy system, the barrel whirred to life and began to glow bright orange. There were several gasps in reaction as Prime covered his mouth with a fist and made a noise similar to a cough to hide his laughter. Newly arriving soldiers having witnessed what they interpreted as a hostile act ran over with upraised weapons to defend the dignitaries.

Optimus regarded his Second as he responded dryly, _"you do realize I wasn't suggesting you should help."_

_:"No? Awww. Anyway ah made a point so now they'll remember who they're dealing with and they'll respect you more, Prime."_

_:"Perhaps. But cycle down and make nice, remember we're stuck here."_

_:"Oh yeah, there is that." _The black mech disengaged his weapon and transformed it back to his hand but before Optimus could speak Ironhide leaned over the humans, "my name's Ironhide. Ah'm Second in Command to Optimus Prime. He is the leader of our World and ah expect you to remember that and treat him accordingly. If not, you'll deal with me. Are we clear?"

_:"Oh that's going to make things better,"_ Optimus commented sourly.

Captain Lennox, upon hearing Ironhide's threatening words turned and noted the brass and suits with dismay rushed over to Optimus' side prepared to run interference or damage control. With Ironhide's more aggressive nature, he thought, probably both.

One medal encrusted general stepped forward and frowned, "are you threatening us?! After what's happened here?"

Before either Ironhide or the General could continue arguing, Optimus stepped forward, "please excuse my Second's reaction. Ironhide is not only my military commander but my bodyguard as well. It is his responsibility to protect me and he is, as you can see, not one to mince words or actions. I value his courage, loyalty, and honesty, as will you once you've had a chance to know him. We would not have been able to have defended this city from the Decepticons without valuable soldiers such as he." Optimus waited as he regarded each human to assess their reactions.

"As Ironhide said, I am Optimus Prime the military and political leader for the planet Cybertron and the Autobots. We have come to your world to help you defend it from the Decepticons. As you can see, by this small skirmish, your world is inadequately prepared to deal with their superior armament." Shouts of disagreement and anger arose from the group at the perceived insult to their military superiority. Optimus raised his servo and waited for them to finish.

"Please, no insult was intended. I merely point out facts, simply look at what a handful of Decepticons did to this city."

One man in a suit shouted, "and you!"

Optimus ignored the interruption, "we are here as friends and allies. Although both Autobots and Decepticons are Cybertronians we hold vastly different political and philosophical viewpoints. No different than the nations of your own world. Autobots view life with respect and we will honor your right of governance. This is your world not ours. The Decepticons do not see things in that light and never will. They view your world with an eye for conquest and make no mistake, they will never see you as peers only as impediments to obtaining what they want."

"There is much we need to discuss but as you can see," he waved a hand over the group before him, "there are far too many departments and only one of me. So I would like to request that your Secretary of Defense Keller act as a liaison. I realize this may bypass your organizational structure. But Secretary Keller has knowledge that places him in a better position to understand the severity of what must be dealt with. Until he arrives, we need to continue to search for survivors and unexploded ordnance. I thank you for your time." Optimus dipped his helm slightly, turned on his pede and walked away with Ironhide close behind.

The group of government agency bureaucrats, politicians, and military officials stood and gaped for a moment at the abrupt end of the meeting. Then they attempted to run after the Prime as Ironhide stopped and looked down at Lennox, "Captain, would you mind?"

Lennox looked up at Ironhide nodded and then called out to his men. Within moments his unit had materialized around the officials as he explained, "sirs, please, this is for your protection. This area has not been cleared and we're still finding unexploded munitions. Please wait in the command tent until the area has been thoroughly searched. Thank you for your patience and understanding." Despite grumbles as to the inappropriate use of force or insubordination, personal safety won out and the officials returned, still arguing, to the tent. Not without a comment or two as a few of the higher ranking brass let Captain Lennox know that his disrespect to superior officers would be noted and his career would be in jeopardy for such actions.

As they walked away SMSgt Robert "Epps" Epps walked up to the Captain, "hmmm, that went well."

"My career is so dead," Bill whined as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Epps patted him on the shoulder and smirked, "better you than me."

"Oh, thanks for the backup buddy," Bill bumped the Air Force sergeant hard as he turned around, "woops, sorry. Did that hurt? No?" Bill punched Epps as the two mock brawled their way down the street after the two giant mechanoids.

"Ironhide," Optimus called and waited for his friend to join him as he spoke via private comms: "_continue to scan for any Cybertronian tech active or inactive and store it in my trailer along with Jazz. I want to minimize what the humans get of our technology."_

_:"On it."_ The black Cybertronian quickly returned to the ordinance he'd found earlier to try to disable the shell.

Optimus turned and walked back over to Ratchet and knelt beside him as the medic continued to work on Bumblebee, "how's Bumblebee doing?"

Bumblebee chirped and added via comms: "_good to go sir!"_ Sam and Mikaela waved to the Prime while they sat on the curb watching the medic work.

"Going well, actually, Sam and Mikaela were able to find most of Bumblebee's parts. I just need to do a few minor adjustments and test out the repairs. If they hold, he should be able to transform on his own without you having to cart his aft around."

Optimus blinked for a moment at the medic but chose to ignore the comment and said instead, "good work, Ratchet." Optimus turned to Sam and Mikaela and apologized, "it was not my intent to involve either of you beyond retrieving the glasses. I'm sorry for placing you both in danger."

Sam interrupted, "Optimus, how would you know about Sector 7 and that the Decepticons would get involved and screw things up? What matters now that is that Megatron is dead and it's over right?"

Optimus vented softly and looked away for a moment to collect his thoughts. Should he be honest or prevaricate? He opted for honesty, "no, Sam, I should have been better prepared and anticipated the Decepticon presence as well as some sort of human security measures like Sector 7. As to Megatron, yes he is gone. Unfortunately that doesn't mean this conflict over. I have no idea what his command will do once they learn of his death and the loss of the Cube. For now, it's best we remain cautious."

"As in letting Bumblebee continue to guard us," Sam asked hopefully.

"Yes, as soon as he's able." Optimus smiled at Bumblebee as the young mech tried to get up. Ratchet pushed the scout back down on the ground grumbling that he wasn't finished yet.

"As soon as Bee's ready, Mikaela and I'd really like to go home. I need to know if Sector 7 released my mom and dad and I'm sure both our parents are worried about us." Sam asked as he stood and walked over to Bumblebee to place a restraining hand on a large yellow pauldron.

"Yes, as soon as Ratchet permits. However, I can't guarantee he'll be able to stay unless your government grants us permission. Things are heating up politically and I'm not sure what's going to happen. We are as you say 'uninvited guests.' There is always the possibility they may ask us to leave."

"What? You're kidding right? They wouldn't be stupid enough to ask you guys to go with the Decepticons still here. Right?" Sam trailed off uncertainly as he leaned unconsciously on Bumblebee.

Bumblebee opened his comms: "_Prime, I will not leave them unprotected!" _And then he reached over and placed a servo on Sam's back and played a few snippets, "don't worry… I'll watch your back."

Sam nodded, "I know that. I'm just worried about what my government will do."

Optimus sighed, "Sam, I will do what I can but I must honor the laws and wishes of your people. Be patient, I've asked for Secretary Keller to act as our liaison, he understands better than most what is at stake. If you will excuse me, I need to assist Ironhide in clearing the area." The Prime rose to his feet and walked in the opposite direction of Ironhide. As he walked, he reached out and summoned his trailer. Once that task was complete he activated his scanner and started the search.

—◊◊—◊◊—◊◊—

In the temporary command center debate raged on, only this time it was over access to the communications system. During the battle the Decepticons had destroyed local cell towers so with modern cellular communication systems down they were unable to reach their various departments for further direction. Added to the chaos was the arrival of the town mayor along with various civil authorities, police, fire, and medical teams. However, with gentle nudges the mayor managed to get everyone coordinated into a semi-cohesive disaster relief system while trying to keep the alien 'first contact' information on a 'need to know' basis as some of the incoming rescue teams were unaware of the reason for the destruction.

It didn't take long for Secretary Keller to reach Mission City once he 'borrowed' a car from Sector 7. It was difficult getting his vehicle through blockaded areas and damaged streets but once he arrived, like Optimus, he was swarmed with various officials and bombarded with questions. When he had enough he waved them off to make a call to the President using the recently set up military communications equipment. Once that was done and permission given for him to act as temporary liaison, Secretary Keller ordered everyone to remain where they were as he went off to search for the alien leader.

With a sigh of relief, he left the tent unattended and stopped when he realized he had no idea who the leader was. The Defense Secretary scanned the area and spotted an officer he thought he remembered and waved him over, "you there! Weren't you were in Sector 7 and left with that yellow alien car?"

"Yes I was sir. I'm Captain Lennox." The Captain promptly stood at attention and saluted him.

Secretary Keller nodded, "thank you son. Would you do me a favor, I need to talk to the leader of the Autobots, can you point out which one of them he is?"

"That would be Optimus Prime… and he's over there," Lennox turned and pointed to Optimus who'd covered a great deal of ground in his search.

"I see," Keller frowned for a moment noting the distance and then smiled at the Captain as he pointed to his loafers, "I know you already have duties, but would you mind chasing him down? I'm not exactly dressed for running after a giant robot."

"Sure, no problem sir," Lennox grinned and saluted the elderly gentleman. Then he set off at a run, the weapon slung over his shoulder bounced on his back. It didn't take long for the young officer to reach the Prime as the mech had stopped to examine a piece of hardware.

"Optimus," Lennox panted for a few moments, "Secretary Keller is here and would like to speak with you."

"Ah, good. Which one is he," Optimus stood and looked back at the milling humans around the command tent.

"Don't worry, I'll take you to him," Lennox spun and took off as Optimus headed back.

As he followed Lennox, Optimus paused for a moment to speak with Ratchet, "Ratchet, when my trailer arrives would you store Jazz and any Cybertronian material in the hold. Ironhide's looking for more. Also, double-check any munitions he's found and disable them if they're still potentially active, I rather not have my trailer blow up on me." Optimus added with a smile as he patted the medic on the shoulder and then walked over to the waiting men.

Ratchet turned back to Bumblebee, "okay, I think that should do it. I want you to stand and let me know if you get any system errors or pain. No heroics, you hear me? Once you're on the road I won't be able to come rescue you."

"You got it Chief," Bumblebee played a clip from "_Get Smart_" and slowly rose to his pedes monitoring his HUD. Flexing a bit he turned and walked around, he looked at Ratchet and nodded his helm.

"Good. Alright, transform, same thing as before," Ratchet said as he watched Bumblebee perform the maneuver transforming smoothly into a slightly dusty and banged up yellow Camaro. He revved his engine, rolled forward and back and then he quickly transformed back into his bi-pedal form nodding.

"Wrist," ordered the medic and when Bumblebee whined he added warningly, "Bee…" The scout held out his arm with a recorded groan as Ratchet extracted a lead from his wrist and inserted it into a port in the younger bot's wrist. Ratchet ran several system diagnostics humming thoughtfully as he read the data. Bee tapped his pede impatiently and rolled his eyes at Sam who simply shook his head at the scout's antics.

In a matter of moments the medic removed the lead, "everything looks good. Go, get going, there's no sense in waiting for the political end to straighten out. If things fall apart we'll comm you." Bumblebee nodded in agreement as he quickly transformed into his vehicle mode and opened his doors.

"Wait," Sam said, "lemme just let Lennox know we're going and tell him thanks, okay?" Bumblebee beeped in agreement as Sam turned and reached for Mikaela's hand. The pair ran over to where the Captain was standing after having just left Secretary Keller and Optimus to their discussions. Surrounded by his unit they were resting, patiently waiting for command to send a vehicle to retrieve them. He looked up and smiled when he saw Sam and Mikaela coming over.

"Hey guys! How's Bumblebee doing?"

Sam smiled, "he's good to go. Speaking of, we're going to ditch this place and head for home. Our folks are probably going to ground us for life for this."

"Uh, I'm not sure leaving is such a good idea. They'll want to debrief you and then there's paperwork… You know what? You guys did some amazing stuff out there, just go. They know where you live right? Just don't find any more Decepticons on the way, okay?" Lennox gave both of them a hug, surprising them. The remaining soldiers stood and made their farewells as hands were shook. Bumblebee rolled up and honked his horn as he opened his doors. Sam and Mikaela quickly got in and waved as Bee impatiently slammed the doors shut.

A bright canary yellow Camaro is not a subtle vehicle and neither was the bot who had selected that form as his mode, except when he wanted to be. And as Bumblebee's rumbling engine indicated, this was not one of those times. Overjoyed with his recovery, coupled with post-battle energy and that of the excitement of two teens inside him eager to go home, Bumblebee's energy was too much to be contained. So, with a shrug of his axles, he didn't. He revved his engine several times, making military and civilians pause in their activities to watch as the muscle car floored it. His tires squealed as they fought for traction on the pavement leaving in his wake a plume of smoke and black streaks as he accelerated down the street blowing past blockades, angry soldiers and police.

Optimus, who was in the middle of negotiations paused and sighed as he watched his youngest race down the street. He reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his optics for a moment as Secretary Keller chuckled, "one of yours?"

"Yes," the Prime responded dryly and then continued, "he's my scout Bumblebee. The humans with him are…"

"That Witwicky boy right? And, I don't recall the girl's name." The grey haired gentleman watched frowning as the retreating form of the Camaro weaved past barricades and yelling military.

"Mikaela Banes," Optimus added helpfully, "Secretary Keller, I have authorized Bumblebee to act as a guardian for Sam. He's taking them home, I hope this doesn't present too much of a problem?"

"I see," the older gentleman sighed, "they're teenagers aren't they."

"Yes." Optimus vented slightly as he lowered his hand from his face to regard the Secretary of Defense.

"This just keeps getting better and better," Secretary Keller sighed shaking his head resignedly. "Optimus, do you mind if I sit down, this is going to take some time." He looked around only to discover that the only seating was in the command tent with far too many eager individuals waiting for him to return. He groaned and muttered, "I'm getting too old for this."

Optimus chuckled in understanding, "agreed. If I may?" Before obtaining a response Optimus quickly initiated his transformation sequence, the act causing the milling humanity to pause and stare, as the Secretary stepped back. Thus far, few had seen Optimus' alternate mode. Once he'd completed transformation he opened the door to his cab, "please."

John closed his mouth after he realized he'd been gaping then stared at the robot turned semi and gulped. With a deep intake of breath he stepped up using the running board and hanging onto the door carefully he entered the passenger side of the cab and sat down.

"I hope this will do," Optimus commented through the speakers making John start both from the voice and the passenger door shutting.

"Uh, yes, I guess it will. Although I must admit this has to be the oddest place to hold negotiations I have ever attended."

Optimus chuckled in sympathy, "given the situation, however, would it not be better here than sitting inside that tent?"

"Well, I certainly feel safer in here than with them," John laughed, "let's get to business shall we?"

"Thank you for your trust. To business then," Optimus agreed.

As the pair discussed politics a semi, the exact duplicate of Optimus with a large silver trailer in tow, pushed past the blockades and pulled up to where Ratchet was standing. Few noticed the semi-truck dissolve leaving only the silver trailer. Ratchet didn't even wait for the hologram to fade as he quickly opened the rear doors to start loading the pile of bits Ironhide and Optimus had already located. As Ironhide continued his search, Ratchet placed and organized the items in the trailer, being sure to keep Jazz' body close to the front. Roller, Optimus' mini-drone, touched Jazz' body and whined. Ratchet leaned over and placed a servo on its head comfortingly, "I know, Roller, we're all gonna miss him."

Secretary Keller crossed his legs and leaned back into the seat, "Optimus, if what you say is true it is essential we maintain an alliance with you, but we will have to tread carefully. Many nations will view this arrangement as an aggressive act on my government's part especially with your advanced weaponry." The older gentleman rubbed his chin and hummed thoughtfully before continuing, "perhaps a multi-national task force to work with you might ease tensions… Are you sure about sharing your technology?"

"Quite sure. Humanity," Optimus pointed out, "is already teetering on the brink of nuclear war. Anything we provide to the United States of a tactical nature could push other nations into possible retaliation for fear these weapons would be used on them, is that not a concern?"

"Of course. However, as Secretary of Defense it is my responsibility to ensure the defense of _my_ nation not theirs. But, you are correct, it would be extremely provocative. Just be aware that there are those within my government who will present challenges in this regard."

"All I can ask is that you do what you can."

"I will Optimus. In the meantime, let's move you and your team to Nellis Air Force Base until we've decided on a more permanent location. I'd like to keep your presence here on a need to know basis and I'll contact you… How will I contact you?" John muttered, "I'll figure something out. In the meantime, I'll be meeting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff to work out a basic military alliance structure. Optimus, would you prepare a brief speech for me to send to the United Nations as we discussed? I think that will pave the way with our Secretary of State and ease any tensions other world powers may have should this come to light. That's all I can think of at the moment, I'd better start the ball rolling, thank you Optimus for your help and cooperation."

"It is a pleasure John," Optimus opened his cab door and waited until the Secretary was at a safe distance before he activated his transformation protocols. Once his bi-pedal form had completed assembling he nodded to the Secretary and headed off to the trailer.

—◊◊—◊◊—◊◊—

The Secretary of Defense walked up to the tent and met with the mayor to discuss coordination between the civil and military authorities. Once that was finished he walked into the tent to address the rest of the occupants, "here's how things are going to play out. As of now, the Autobots fall under _my_ jurisdiction. Any and all alien technology retrieved are to be taken to Nellis Air Force Base for storage until a separate site is arranged. No," he frowned at a suit who surged forward, "no one and I stress no one, will have access to anything until procedures are put into place and that will start with the President, Congress, and the JCS, not with you."

"Next. You," he pointed at one of the suits, "take care of the media, make up whatever story you can and keep them out of this city until the Autobots have left."

He turned to another, "you, I want you to work with the mayor to take care of the injured."

John surveyed the crowd and gave each person present a steely glare, "let me repeat this again, just so there aren't any mistakes. If any of you or your people find anything alien you will ship it to Nellis. If I learn _any_ technology was improperly appropriated firing will be the least of your worries. Are we clear?" He waited, again staring down each individual to make sure he had their full attention, "good."

"General, I want vehicles and security here _now _to escort those soldiers to base for some food and rest, the Autobots will follow. Alright, now that that's out of the way, I want all of you to clear this tent, I need to make some calls and I can't hear myself think with all the shouting."

As the Secretary sat at the communications table he sighed knowing he'd just made more enemies today. As he waited for the line to the President to go through, he knew with confidence that whatever they thought they could do to him was nothing compared to what the Decepticons would do to Earth.

With surprising efficiency, government and military officials quickly undertook the task of cleaning up, sanitizing, and evacuating anything alien. Military cordons continued to contain reporters, while temporary housing was provided for surviving residents until the area was deemed safe to return to. Ambulances blared past as the injured were taken to local hospitals for treatment.

—◊◊—◊◊—◊◊—

It didn't take long for Bumblebee to reach I215 and as he rolled onto the highway he poured on the speed with the encouragement of Sam.

"I still can't believe what just happened," Sam said as he ran his thumb over the symbol on the center of Bee's steering wheel.

"I know," Mikaela said as she flipped down the visor to look at her reflection and frowned. "We're a mess, do you think there's someplace we could stop and shower up? If my dad sees me like this he's going to freak out."

"That's the least of my worries," Sam said as he looked at his reflection in the rearview mirror. "I don't even know what Sector 7 did with my parents."

"Hey," Mikaela said, "Bee, do you think we could stop at a mall or something. Buy some clean clothes and maybe find a place to shower?"

"Why now?" Sam said as he reached over and grabbed Mikaela's hand with his and then noted how dirty they were, "yeah, I guess you're right. Thing is, I don't have a whole lotta money."

Bumblebee activated an internal display using the windshield, startling the occupants for a moment until he added text to the readouts displayed, "not to worry. I'll do some hacking and get us a little cash, it's the least we can do."

"Isn't that kinda like stealing?" Sam said sternly crossing his arms over his chest.

Text played across the screen, "fine. I'll access your father's account at an ATM and you can withdraw money there. You can explain things to your dad later."

"Works for me," Sam said with a smile.

Instead of heading towards down-town, Bee took the S. Eastern Avenue exit and headed towards a shopping center. Once they located an ATM and withdrew cash, they drove over to the WalMart and purchased relatively inexpensive clothing and necessities. To save money, they washed up in the WalMart bathrooms as best they could and changed clothing. As soon as they'd picked up food and beverages for the trip they dashed back to the grumbling Camaro in the parking lot.

Seemed someone had bumped Bee with their shopping cart and he was rather annoyed at that, and the fact that the temperature was climbing and the spot they'd parked in lacked shade. Not that there any parking spot that had any, but Bee was just tired of sitting.

Fed, relatively clean, and happily housed within Bumblebee's thankfully air conditioned interior, the trio made their way to the I15 and headed away from Hoover Dam, Section 7, Mission City, and hopefully any remaining Decepticons. It didn't take long for the comfortable interior and exhaustion to take ahold of the teens and soon they were fast asleep.

Bumblebee ran a scan on his occupants to make sure they were okay and once he was satisfied, settled down to paying attention to the road.

—◊◊—◊◊—◊◊—

Later that afternoon an unusual train of military vehicles drove through the Nellis Air Force Base's I Street gate. At first it did not provoke any unusual regard by the base's law enforcement until a flame painted semi, a neon-green emergency Hummer, and a large black Topkick, drove through tucked in between more canvass-covered military transports. As they drove down past huge hangars which separated the road from the flightline they were joined by additional military police and led to a secured hangar.

The Peterbuilt smoothly reversed its massive trailer into the hanger and was immediately joined by the two remaining non-military vehicles. Once all were tucked inside the giant hangar doors slid shut securing its contents from prying eyes as the small contingent of military security police formed a perimeter around the exterior. The Nellis flight line soon returned to its normal operations with practiced efficiency.

While different government agencies within the United States continued to battle over territory, security, and technology, those within the hangar transformed. Optimus, Ratchet and Ironhide moved about the hangar to examine their surroundings before they sat down to wait and deal with post battle injuries.

Ratchet completed his cursory examinations he looked at Optimus, "I know Bumblebee really likes Sam but are you sure it's a good idea to split us up?"

Optimus sighed, "as much as I'd prefer he stay with us, I think the Decepticons will try to regroup. Sam and Mikaela's direct contact with the AllSpark will give them a slight signature for a short time and I'm concerned the Decepticons might make them a target."

Optimus flexed his arm noting some damage to the limb as he continued, "Megatron may be dead but as long as Starscream, Shockwave, and Soundwave are still active and unaccounted for, I'm afraid we'll still be at war. The question is whether or not they feel Earth is worthy of their attention. If they do not, letting Bee stay should be fine."

Ironhide stood and activated his scanners checking for energon readings. It was standard procedure so no one took undue note of his behavior. When the scan was complete he sat down and muttered, "clear."

Ratchet frowned, "so we stay until you're certain Decepticon command is going to leave Earth alone?"

"Yes, that's if the humans allow us to remain." Optimus retracted his battle mask and rubbed his face knocking off bits of dust that had lodged under the mask.

Ironhide snorted, "without a ship we can't exactly leave now can we?"

"Well, there is that," Optimus said with a slight grin.

Ratchet crossed his arms over his chassis, "Prime you cagey bot, you stranded us here intentionally didn't you."

Optimus shrugged noncommittally, "Ratchet, as I recall, you have been recommending I get some rest."

"The next time you decide to actually follow my orders, let me make the arrangements… And the guest list," growled Ratchet. Ironhide and Optimus chuckled softly as Ratchet sighed, "alright enough of a break. Med checks, Prime you're up first."

Optimus narrowed his optics, "is this your way of getting even?" Ratchet held out his hand for Optimus' wrist and smiled as he shrugged noncommittally imitating Optimus's earlier answer. Ironhide snorted with laughter and promptly stopped when Ratchet quipped, "I wouldn't laugh, you're next." The hangar rang with the laughter of accumulated years of friendship and teasing.

—◊◊—◊◊—◊◊—

While Ratchet worked on Optimus, and the teens were halfway to Tranquility, the Secretary of Defense worked diligently as well. From the temporary camp in Mission City he contacted different governmental sectors to mediate and work towards a consensus. Although many considered him old and outdated, he _was_ a seasoned veteran of both politics and military arenas. Through years of service he had acquired a vast network of allies in both civilian and military sectors which he now brought into play. With a skillful hand, he encouraged those within the Senate to form a secret alliance with the Autobots, which despite reservations was approved of by the President. At the same time he coordinated with the Joint Chiefs of Staff to assemble a tentative task force and base to relocate the giant mechanical beings. Security agencies were combing Hoover Dam, Sector 7, and Mission City for any remaining alien technology. As to Sector 7, any technology and information was to be collected and stored at Nellis until an appropriate agency would be chosen to manage the materials properly. Sector 7's non-essential personnel were to be debriefed and terminated. Secretary Keller wanted no more secrets and no more surprises, least of all from a rogue agency thinking it was above the law.

There were calls within the government eager for the recovered technology to begin reverse engineering for future military use. And despite attempts to keep the alien threat secret from other world powers, information leaked. Secretary Keller's foresight in having Optimus Prime prepare a statement was fortuitous and that statement was sent immediately to the United Nations. Many nations were in an uproar, as expected, over the potential use by the United States of these aliens and their technology to threaten global stability and maintain power. Threats of broken treaties, war, as well as global catastrophe were being hurled about and needed to be quelled. Secretary Keller disconnected a call from one agitated senator as his aides bombarded him with the latest intelligence. He raised his hand silencing them and sighed as he swiped his phone's screen, _"I better warn the wife, I won't be home for a few weeks…. I'm getting too old for this…."_

—◊◊—◊◊—◊◊—

In the closed hangar as Ratchet's skilled servos worked on Optimus's shoulder, Ironhide leaned against the side of the hangar and asked, "Optimus, do you think they'll ask us ta leave? Ah mean given our firepower, it would be a tactical mistake if they did, but sometimes governments don't always do the smart thing." There were wry chuckles from the three soldiers as they recalled their own government sourly.

"I cannot predict what they will do. It is their world and their right to govern as they see fit. But I also don't plan to leave them to the Decepticons. Let's wait and see what they do, and then plan from there." Silence reigned again within the hangar interspersed with the sounds of Ratchet's work, each being lost themselves in their own thoughts.

One of the side doors in the hangar opened and a small unit of security personnel walked in, some with weapons raised. One separated from the group and approached holding up a phone. He asked loudly, unable to control a slight tremor who Optimus was. Optimus raised his hand as the airman walked up to the red and blue flamed being holding a small device.

"Secretary Keller wishes to speak with you sir," the airman explained as he placed the tiny device on Optimus's massive digit and looked up puzzled as to how the phone call would work given the size differences.

"Don't worry, I can take it from here," Optimus said to the airman who stepped back to wait near the exit with the rest of his squad. Optimus regarded the device and within moments was able to hack the signal. When the connection was established the conversation went quickly as Optimus listened with relief that the government was willing to work with the Autobots. Secretary Keller informed them that they would be allowed to stay and additional approval was given for Bumblebee to act as Sam's guardian.

Secretary Keller mentioned he would arrive shortly to advise him personally and to prepare the Autobots for transfer to a different more secure location. Once the call was complete Optimus closed the signal and then held his servo out for the airman to retrieve the phone. Once the device was recovered the small squad exited the building leaving them alone again. As soon as the door closed Optimus relayed the news to his curious staff.

Growing uncomfortable with the tight quarters Ironhide opened the hangar doors. Although the base security didn't seem to feel this was a good idea, they weren't exactly going to argue. One airman picked up his radio and advised his superiors of the change thinking it was better to pass the buck and let the higher ups make the call. Command thought the matter over and decided they were in no position to argue with three beings that happened to be 30 plus foot tall armed robots and let the doors remain open.

A breeze blew into the hangar which stirred the light powdering of sand and dust on the smooth floor into tiny whirlwinds as Optimus adjusted his position. He placed a scarred and battered arm on his upraised knee, stretched out his other leg for balance and then looked out of the open hangar doors as Ratchet continued to examine and repair him.

As Ratchet worked, Optimus reviewed his decision to allow Bumblebee to leave. Although what he told Ratchet was true, he wasn't entirely certain separating his team was a wise move. He chuckled to himself sourly. To question decisions wasn't a new process for the Prime but he made a point not share his concerns with Ratchet or Ironhide. Why burden them with his insecurity?

A military vehicle drove past the hangar with security personnel, an airman after seeing the leviathans within gaped in amazement before the vehicle passed beyond eyesight. Optimus chuckled, amused at the comical expression. His limited experience with the organics of this world had not prepared him for the human variable when he marooned his unit planet-side. At the time his biggest concern was finding the Cube and keeping it away from the Decepticons without alerting the indigenous population.

Since then he learned that humans were a deeply emotional race, no different than his own. So he encouraged Bumblebee's friendship with Sam and allowed him to return to California. Optimus felt these relationships were important but wasn't entirely sure why and he couldn't deny a pull from his spark that suggested there was more here he needed to consider. But what was it? Considering the question, Optimus centered himself and reached out to the Matrix housed within his chassis hoping for some sort of illuminating advice. As always, he received nothing of use but the memories of those who came before him. Yet again the wisdom of Primus and his cherished guidance remained elusive and he wondered yet again if this was a sign of his unworthiness.

As Prime, it was his responsibility to protect his people, he failed. His elevation to Prime was intended to stop the unrest, it didn't. Nor did it stop outright rebellion, war, devastation of his world, and the loss of more lives than he could count. Logically, he knew it would not have mattered who had been selected, there was nothing that would have stopped the chain of events that led to war. It bothered him, nonetheless.

He fidgeted for a moment unused to the lack of data bombardment he received from being the center of Autobot command. Prior to his departure for Earth, Optimus intentionally transferred that command to Prowl. Although he feared many would view this move an admission of defeat or worse an act of cowardice. His intention was to keep his location secret. Otherwise, the Decepticons would immediately place Earth, an inhabited and vulnerable world, and potentially the Cube's location, as their primary target. The Autobots were in good hands with Prowl until he could rejoin them.

Optimus shifted slightly as Ratchet tugged on a portion of his shoulder armor in discomfort. To distract his processor, he allowed himself to indulge in memories of the events that led him to this point in his life.

He had emerged from the Well of AllSparks as Orion Pax. Because of his form, he was assigned as a data clerk within one of the middle-castes as were those who were created like him on Cybertron. All who emerged from the Well were placed within frames and sorted by type into a structured order, a caste to live, work and eventually die in. Caste was a fixed existence and movement was not allowed because, as they were taught, it was what Primus ordained. So said the law created by the Council, the caste was to promote equality and fairness.

Cybertron was ruled by a select group of twelve elders, the Council, who wrote laws and maintained order. The only office higher, some said, was that of the office of the Prime. The Prime was 'the' Guardian of Cybertron and not an elected individual but was selected by the Matrix of Leadership, an ancient device given to their people by their creator Primus, to insure his people would be protected both civilly and militarily.

Over time the Council had drifted from the ideals of Primus and lacking restraint from the Primes, had grown corrupt. Many were frustrated that the Primes seemed to serve the Council by ignoring their actions or were complicit themselves. Those who questioned the Council's caste law were prevented from doing anything against it as, by consensus, if the law had been improper the Prime via the guidance from the Matrix would've stopped its institution. Since the Primes did not it must mean the law, therefore, was correct and proper. But despite the law's best intentions of creating equality it did more. Over time it created stagnation, dissatisfaction, sorrow, servitude of classes, and death with no opportunity for growth, change, creativity, even love faded away.

For Orion, the work of a data clerk was a quiet one with long hours focused solely on viewing and sorting data. He hardly ever interacted with his peers, happily going about his duties and quietly keeping his inquisitive nature to himself. Like most Cybertronians, he was distantly aware of the disparity between the castes but since his caste led a comfortable existence he never felt the sting of suffering under a harsher career or that of enslavement. He knew the higher castes considered themselves like 'nobility' and enjoyed wealth and privilege. Such classes were catered to by a mini-bot slave caste that was told their only purpose was to serve the higher castes. Other low castes were forced to perform dangerous tasks in harsh environments who frequently lost their lives, unnamed and unremembered.

As a data reviewer he was only to analyzed the data sent to his station and immediately route it to the appropriate department. Following up or seeking further information was a task belonged to other castes. In a never-ending cycle he moved data mindlessly, the information rarely provoking his interest. Until rumors of unrest filtered through his station. He filed them as he did the others but at the end of his shift he would find his spark disturbed by these rumors. If the caste was approved by Primus why was there dissatisfaction? Would not the Prime protect his people if the law was harmful?

It was the data recordings of a mech named Megatronus, later renamed Megatron, who changed Orion's fate. Megatronus, like many of his mining caste was forced to watch friends fall in death, casually dismissed by those above as 'acceptable losses.' Pushed beyond endurance Megatron escaped the mines by way of the underground gladiatorial pits. He had once told Orion that he had been determined that if Primus felt he should die, he would do so by his choice. He never expected to survive but he did. Each success in the pits found him growing in popularity with the very same nobles who had casually treated his caste as replaceable.

Megatronus's growing popularity provided him a venue to express his views. At the end of every aired match, he voiced his discontent and frustration that the Council and The Prime would allow the suffering of their people to continue. His sentiments gained him a fierce and loyal following. He knew once the Council decided he was a threat they would eliminate him. But, instead of being cautious he again put his life on the line by calling out to those who felt as he did to stand and rise up. His words, some said, inspired the rebels who named themselves 'Decepticons.' While others claimed it was Megatronus himself who organized the terrorists. Orion was never able to learn the truth, either way discontent turned these 'Decepticons' to action.

It was a normal work day for Orion as he logged data until he'd caught part of one of Megatronus's earlier speeches and out of curiosity actually listened to it before filing it. Megatronus had managed to express in words the disquiet he himself had been feeling and the spark that had flickered within him grew brighter. After his shift, Orion sat in his small living quarters again thinking about their world and wondering whether this was the life Primus intended for all his creations. And if it wasn't, what was? Tired of his late night musings he decided to take the next step. He worked at the Iacon Hall of Records, the largest vault of recorded history and wisdom of their race, so why not use it? Since there was no prohibition the Hall was open to all Cybertronians so he used his free time to search the Hall for answers. Each evening after his shift he would retire to musty stacks or ancient recordings to study anything he could find on their history and origins while he used his work day to search for Megatronus's next speech.

To question was frowned upon because it was considered wrong-thinking and Orion by his nature strove to do what was right. But Megatronus had also brought up a valid point in his speeches. Drones worked without question and since he was not a drone did he not have the right to challenge those who would treat him as such? That statement had Orion regarding the bots around him as he watched them perform their duties in a drone-like manner when they weren't. Was not the ability to question an indication of sentience which was why drones were not considered sentient? As such, didn't sentient beings have rights?

Orion's questions grew. Was that how their world had always been? What was more important one's frame or one's spark? Was it better for him and Cybertron to stay and mindlessly perform tasks or to follow his spark? While Orion researched these questions he was unaware that he was being observed.

An ancient bot by the name of Alpha Trion had noted these changes within Orion. As Orion continued with his research it was Alpha Trion who enabled the data he was seeking to be found or that his unusually inquisitive activities were carefully removed from the records. All Orion knew was that when he stumbled over ancient records that told him of their origins and government, the one Primus intended, he had been stunned.

Orion's processor spun with the knowledge that the 13 Primes were not tall tales but real living beings. Through their leadership they led Cybertron into the Golden Age. A Golden Age of achievement where their civilization had thousands of space bridges, an extensive space fleet including titanic city ships, and scientific achievements that would today be considered mystical. He learned that under the guidance and wisdom of the 13 Primes their world shone with wealth and prosperity. With shock, after each text he reviewed he noticed two important facts missing. There was no mention of a Council and no caste law. His studies brought him to one conclusion, Cybertronians had been sparked with the desire to choose their own destiny.

Orion research revealed another puzzle, what unknown event had transitioned their world from a Prime-centric government to Council and Prime controlled one? It seemed that once the Council had assumed a leadership role in their world's government corruption eventually crept in. Despite these questions, he knew the information he had discovered should not be kept to himself.

Armed with this knowledge and naiveté he reached out to Megatronus and broke the caste laws by meeting illegally with him. Their shared common ground based on the desire to be free and ruled by an honest government bloomed as their meetings, at first private, turned public. Orion joined Megatronus and publicly spoke alongside him. Was he a useful tool for Megatronus to gain approval and acknowledgment from the higher castes? He never knew for sure, but what he did know was that once Megatronus included him, the higher castes started to listen.

The movement took a greater hold on the populace, punctuated by small acts of violence, which forced the Council to take action. The Council knew that to move against Megatronus now might provoke open rebellion. So they gathered to plot a way out, to minimize Megatronus and curb the discontent he fomented. Megatronus's low caste origins helped but the Council knew they needed to halt the increasing upper caste interest as well. Instead of jailing Megatronus for speaking out, they decided to summon him to a public hearing to allow him the opportunity to state his case openly. The Council believed doing so would show them as benevolent leaders concerned for their people and subsequently focusing anger away from them. It would also give them an opportunity to control the message and show that a low caste bot was simply not intelligent enough to argue against the well-reasoned, sincere, and capable Council. As to Orion Pax, he too would be allowed to speak because the Council knew he was not known for being either eloquent or outgoing. They believed it would be easy to intimidate and humiliate him and in doing so prove the weakness of his case.

The Council made it an open public forum, the broadcast was the most widely viewed program recorded in all of Cybertron's history. News commentators wondered if the Council would put them to death for speaking treason by arguing against their laws. Would the Council be swayed and end the caste law? All of Cybertron watched intently as that fateful meeting unfolded, no one was truly prepared for what happened, least of all Orion.

When the Council summoned Megatronus to speak he had mounted the dais as a gladiator, with confidence and power. He spoke openly about the corruption of the Council and the complicity of the Primes for failing to correct it. He spoke graphically and with passion how the Council consigned thousands of the lower castes to death in dangerous jobs, unnamed and never mourned. While other castes were forced into a life-time of servitude to 'noble' masters that sometimes harmed them merely for amusement, with no hope of freedom. And love? Only the upper castes were allowed to select partners to share their spark, the rest were forced to sparkmate within their caste and only by permission of the state. Megatronus was so inflamed he ended his speech demanding the right as a Cybertronian to be made Prime and put things right. He argued Cybertron would not survive if the Council was allowed to continue. He threatened ominously that there would be outright rebellion and war unless they made him Prime.

When Megatronus stepped off the dais, the Council had to call a halt to the proceedings as the chambers below erupted with roars of support and calls to make Megatronus Prime. In the deafening chaos, the Council knew it was necessary to call a recess. They claimed they needed the time to consider Megatronus's words. In reality, they used the delay to let tempers cool as they let their supporters fill the lower chambers to whisper Council-centric words, subtly trying to change the tone by manipulation and guile.

The Council retired to their private suite using the time to discuss their options. They knew Sentinel was growing tired of leading and would eventually need to step down, he had even requested so himself. They also knew Megatronus was definitely not a bot they could control. Many candidates were considered that day but the Council was unable to reach an agreement. When news reached the Council that the chambers below had quieted, they decided to return to hear Pax's speech and were determined to recess afterwards to continue their debate.

Optimus remembered mounting the dais with trepidation and embarrassment. At first he answered the Council's questions nervously, but as the questioning went on he grew calm as he rationally explained his reasoning. The conviction and honesty of his beliefs stilled his fears as well as the rumblings within the chamber as those within began to listen. Unexpected courage flowed through his frame giving him more confidence and as he relaxed his voice, deep to begin with, grew in volume and carried throughout the hall.

He spoke of what he had learned from his research and with reverence reminded them of their noble origins. Of a time when their direction was given to them by Primus, led by the 13 Primes, when there was no Council and no caste. He spoke sorrowfully as to what the caste had taken away from their people. Like a storyteller of old Orion spoke of the vastness of space _they_ had once explored and colonized on ships _they_ built. Of scientific achievements that would be considered mystical today. With dolor he pointed out how they had lost their way, not even able to build the ships that took their civilization to the stars. He bemoaned the fact that they could not even repair space bridges let alone create them. He reminded them that it was by those bridges they had once been connected with other worlds and their own colonies. He told them they had once been giants amongst the races, but now? He paused as his words echoed within the chambers. He ended his speech encouragingly saying they could be so again _if_ they were allowed the freedom to do so.

No one expected such eloquence from a data clerk, least of all the Council, as the public chambers erupted into cheers and agreement. Megatronus knew at that moment Orion's words had cost him the office of Prime. The Council watched noting the crowd's clear approval of Orion and turned to one another. Silently they agreed, the bot was young and idealistic but they felt they could easily manipulate him, control him.

When Orion stepped down stunned, he remembered with a smile, he hadn't expected that kind of reaction at all. He accepted complements from those bots that swarmed around him, as well as acknowledged the shouts echoing throughout the chamber numbly. When the Council rose to speak, he froze prepared for sentencing and termination.

"We have called this meeting today to hear the words of Megatronus and Orion Pax who have publicly questioned our leadership as well as the Caste Law. These actions are seditious and merit severe punishment. But, we are also sensitive to the needs of our people and since this has touched your sparks we wished to give them the opportunity to speak for themselves."

"We have listened carefully to your words Megatronus and Orion Pax, and we have decided that your motives were genuine and intended no harm. Therefore no charges will be brought against you," the chamber erupted into cheers, "however, we remind you that in future there are appropriate procedures in place to submit grievances. Today we have acted with lenience, the next time we will not. If you continue to speak out, you will face the full weight of the law and its punishment in that regard."

"Megatronus, you have called for a new Prime and we agree. Sentinel Prime has served Cybertron and this Council well and has personally asked respite from such long and honorable service. Today we have decided to grant both requests and will select a new Prime…" The council chamber erupted again with voices shouting for Megatronus while others for Orion.

"Primus dictated we select from amongst us one to take on the heavy burden and responsibility of Prime, to join with those who served before as Primes to lead Cybertron with wisdom and honor… Orion Pax, rise and assume the mantle of responsibility and join with your brother Sentinel as Optimus our next Prime."

The decision caused a greater reaction than the Council expected as the ancient halls shook with the roars of many voices, some in anger and others in agreement. Optimus recalled with a small chuckle that he simply froze, if there hadn't been a crush of bots surrounding him he would have collapsed to the floor his processor glitching.

As the public chambers erupted, Megatronus and his supporters tried to capture Orion and gain access to the Council chambers above. While vigilant Autobot guards both Elite and regulars, including a bot named Ironhide, moved to surround the new Prime and hustle him to the upper levels and safety. No one would have predicted this one decision would commit their world into an ageless civil war, least of all Optimus.

The terrorists calling themselves Decepticons rose up in anger and increased their activities. They saw Orion's elevation as a continuation of the status quo. Their attacks increased both in quantity and intensity as they struck cities all over the planet. Despite Optimus's attempts to revoke the Caste law, he was consistently restricted by the Council and Sentinel Prime. He tried to speak with Megatronus to explain that he had not changed on his position but Megatronus, now referring to himself as Megatron wouldn't listen. Nothing Optimus did made a difference. As far as those who rebelled were concerned the office of Prime was so thoroughly tainted nothing could have changed the course of the rebellion, the lower castes had been pushed over the edge.

The Council was forced into seclusion in fear of retaliation. Sentinel Prime took Optimus under his wing and he placed him in a grueling training program which included military arts, government, and law, while subtly trying to correct Optimus's perceptions. The Decepticons grew in strength and power as small acts of terrorism turned into outright war. Fear gripped the civilian population as the casualties mounted which started the subtle evacuation of Cybertron, first by those with the financial resources to leave or who already possessed space-faring vessels.

Then the Decepticons moved in earnest against the government by capturing two of the Council. Sentinel and Optimus tried to rescue them but sadly in a public forum the Decepticons led by Megatron, executed them for treason against the Cybertronian people. The Council's reaction was shocking. Instead of standing firm, they claimed that the only way to protect their government from these 'criminals' would be to leave Cybertron. They placed Cybertron under martial law with Sentinel and Optimus Prime in temporary command until it was safe for them to return. Reports showed footage from the space port near Iacon, overwhelmed with crowds of civilians trying to force their way aboard the last of the city-ships _Metroplex, _commandeered by the Council as it readied to leave. The ports closed with finality as the last of the large ships blasted its way off Cybertron and into deep space.

Cybertron was once again under the rule of the Primes but it was not enough to stop the war.

Their world was now split into three factions, the Autobots under the direction of the Primes, the Decepticons under the leadership of Megatron, and the neutrals hopeful the war would end soon without forcing them to choose sides. Instead of a quick end, the war dragged on. Demands on energy grew but Cybertron's energon reserves did not. Energon dwindled from use or was tainted by death and destruction. Cybertron was dying, its population was starving or dying, trillions dwindled to billions and then fewer still.

For the Primes it was nothing but one long continuous defeat as city after city fell under Decepticon control until only the cities of Tyger Pax and Iacon remained. The Well of AllSparks was still under Autobot control, but their forces were struggling to defend three fronts with failing resources and limited personnel. Their inevitable defeat drew even closer.

The Autobots needed something, anything to help aid their cause. Sentinel advised Optimus he believed he was close to a breakthrough in understanding space bridge technology. If he did, they could use that technology to evacuate the Autobot forces from Cybertron. But to do that Sentinel would need to focus solely on his project and in a small informal setting passed the Matrix of Leadership to Optimus. Optimus truly had no personal desire to command their forces but he too admitted the chance to evacuate their people was the greater priority.

As Sentinel passed the Matrix to Optimus, he placed the device within his chassis while the crowd waited in silence to see if the ancient artifact would reject him as Prime. The Matrix, as all Cybertronians knew from sparkling-hood on up, would reject unworthy candidates. No one knew for certain how as there was no recorded rejection to date. So with the Matrix housed within his chassis Optimus, like those watching, waited for some sort of acknowledgement or rejection, anything. When nothing happened Sentinel formally announced his retirement and seclusion naming Optimus a true Prime.

For those who served with Optimus, he was their unquestioned leader, a true Prime. Optimus however felt like a fraud. He had expected more from the Matrix than access to the memories of the Primes before him. Despite frequent appeals to Primus via the Matrix for aid to stop the war and save their people he received nothing. No help, no guidance, no advice, nothing but memories and even those were incomplete, where were the memories and thoughts of the 13?

Truly left alone to lead their people, Optimus did the best he could. There was one boon for Cybertron's newest Prime, he was finally free to put into place the changes both sides had desired without the Council or Sentinel to stop him. It didn't matter, the distrust too deep and with the Autobots close to losing the war the Decepticons had no incentive to end hostilities.

Then Tyger Pax fell. It was a greater defeat for the Prime not just from the perspective of leadership but as a mentor and guardian. Early on in the war he'd rescued a youngling named Bumblebee who had survived attacks on the youth sector. With no guardians to care for the young, Optimus adopted the mini-bot and raised him with his command unit as best he could. He tried to protect Bumblebee from the ravages of war, vainly hoping that it would be over soon so the little yellow mech would never have to experience the horror of it all.

The war did not end and Bumblebee was forced to grow to maturity as he learned combat, eager to prove himself as a warrior. He advanced quickly and enlisted as an Autobot scout when rumors of a Decepticon push to take Tyger Pax reached command. He volunteered to join other scouts to gather intelligence and despite Optimus' objections was accepted. Bumblebee was an excellent scout, but few were a match for Soundwave.

The mini-bot was captured and later brutalized by Megatron himself and left for dead. Bumblebee's body was recovered with Ratchet as the attending medic who was able to repair the young bot's body but wasn't able to fix his vocal processor. In the interim Ratchet created an attachment which hid the youth's scarred face and acted as a speaker housing to play recorded sounds when he needed to speak. Ratchet was convinced when he had enough time he could eventually repair Bee's voice box, if they survived that is.

Tyger Pax's fall left many brave Autobots dead or critically injured and would've been a total loss if intelligence hadn't discovered Megatron's plans to capture the Well and his final push to overwhelm Iacon. Optimus struggled to keep hope and spirits alive within his troops in vain until Sentinel Prime reappeared claiming he'd rediscovered space bridge technology. With a single-minded purpose they refocused their remaining resources into the production of enough devices to create one space bridge as they repaired ships for the evacuation.

Sentinel's plan was simple, when the space bridge was complete he and a small squad of Autobots would flee the planet and set up the bridge for the rest of their forces to escape. Optimus would stay behind with the remaining Autobot forces to prevent the Decepticons from overwhelming the space port for Sentinel's ship, the _Ark,_ to escape.

As expected, the Decepticons discovered the vessel when it roared away from the space port. Optimus watched it rise higher into space as they struggled to keep the Decepticons from destroying the ship. Decepticon Seekers were excellent fliers and their missiles were deadly, Optimus watched in horror as the _Ark_ reached space only to be destroyed by a Seeker missile.

With the space bridge gone as well as his mentor, Optimus pulled back the remaining Autobot forces within Iacon and around the Well. In an effort to further demoralize the Autobots, Megatron broadcasted his final warning, surrender before Iacon falls when it does he would take no prisoners. Megatron redirected forces to surround Iacon in preparation to take the city itself. Except Jazz's covert operatives discovered the move was a ruse. Megatron's true objective was capturing the AllSpark as he intended to force-create a larger army. It sickened Optimus. After all those speeches Megatron had made decrying what the Council had done to their people Megatron was about to do the same thing, to enslave innocent sparks and force them to his will. Optimus had no choice he would not let Megatron have the Cube.

The Autobots feverishly continued to repair ships and when one was ready troops were loaded and launched. Wheeljack and his science teams created chaff munitions and heat missiles as deterrents to Seeker weaponry which allowed many to escape. While the evacuation progressed Optimus and a small unit joined the forces guarding the Well. As the two armies battled, those within the vault watched with heavy sparks as Optimus launched the Cube into space. With nothing left to guard, Optimus ordered a retreat and as his forces pulled back from the Well. He remembered hearing a great roar of fury as Megatron's form blasted off after the AllSpark. Megatron's actions threw his forces into momentary disarray which bought Optimus time to allow the remaining Autobot forces to escape. As Optimus boarded the final ship, he remembered looking at what had become of his home. Cybertron was now a brutally destroyed and dying world, in part by his own hand in participating in the war and his failure to stop Megatron.

With Autobot's ships scattered to the stars and what was left of the Cybertronian population few in number, it seemed mad to continue. As leader of their world he was concerned about the survival of their race, but as leader of the Autobots it was his responsibility to protect those who served under him from the Decepticons. He bemoaned the fact that there was no apparent way to help the Decepticons see reason.

The corrupt government and caste they had fought against were gone. The Autobots were now acting within the laws established pre-Council and had been so for centuries. Why were they still fighting? If the pre-Council law was not what the Decepticons wanted then what sort of government did they intend to replace it with? A dictatorship led by the strong over the weak? Megatron, in a rare communique between the leaders told Optimus that if he were so concerned about their people's survival, then he should surrender and surrender now and help him find the Cube.

On Earth, in one amazing act of bravery a youth accomplished what Optimus and millions of Cybertronians had failed to do, he had destroyed Megatron using the power of the rediscovered Cube. With the leader of the Decepticons dead, Starscream the Decepticon SIC in hiding, and no information as to the location of the rest of Megatron's command staff Soundwave or Shockwave, was the war over? Was Earth was safe?

Although Optimus was not a pessimist by nature, millennia of war had taught him one thing when dealing with Megatron, be prepared for the unexpected. Given the nature of Megatron's command it was unlikely his termination would cease hostilities, therefore it was unlikely the war was over. As to Earth its energy resources would be what the Decepticons needed so he doubted they would abandon it.

Should the Decepticons decide on a military strike against Earth, he and his 3 comrades would not be able to repel them. Optimus acknowledged a change in tactics was needed. It was time to reassemble his scattered forces and order them to join him here on Earth. But, would the humans allow it? Would he be able to make them understand that the Autobots were doing this to defend their world not take it over? What if they refused? Would he be willing to go against their wishes to protect them? He could not abandon them to die but what could he do while still retaining the principles of being an Autobot?

Last, there was the loss of the Cube itself, it was the only object which was able to perpetuate their race. What was the point of fighting now, a faster way into extinction? Why wouldn't the Matrix help him? What should he do?

Optimus closed his optics and lowered his helm and said a quick prayer not only for his people but for the wisdom to guide them. When he finished he opened his optics and ran a servo down his leg absently noting the various nicks and scratches of war on his ancient frame. He looked up and watched as twilight cast the mountain range before him into deep browns and oranges while the sky shifted into shades of deep purple.

He shrugged his massive shoulders to ease stiffness and immediately earned a few choice comments from Ratchet that made the leader chuckle. This, of course, annoyed the medic even more earning the Prime a smack on the helm, "will you quit moving? You're going to make me solder your helm to your shoulder," the medic growled as he continued to make repairs.

Optimus grinned at the medic and then moved back into position while the roar of several jet engines echoed loudly within the hangar. Soon a series of small Seeker-shaped aircraft taxied by, the natural shape of the mountains made the sounds of their passing roar and echo as they launched into the sky. An example of a nation's might, Ironhide snorted disdainfully knowing Earth's tiny planes were no match for the power and agility of Cybertronian Seekers and he would be right.

Optimus sighed when he realized he was, as Jazz would often remind him, spinning his mental wheels going nowhere fast. Jazz was more than a special operations tactician to Optimus, he was a good and loyal friend. Together with Prowl, Ironhide, Ratchet, and Bumblebee, they were the backbone of the Autobot command team. Unlike Prowl, his more serious counterpart, Jazz was able to soften the burden of centuries of loss with noisy joviality and an endless bombardment of music, all with the intent to keep the troops' morale uplifted especially Prime's. It was usually Jazz or Bumblebee whose energy and spirit could pull Optimus out of his occasional melancholy musings. Optimus always wondered how Jazz and Bumblebee managed to maintain such high spirits and optimism despite years of war.

Ironhide, stationed near the hangar doors sat and cleaned his weapons keeping guard, he would occasionally look up as jets rolled past and on down the runway. Optimus grunted in pain at a particularly rough tug at his shoulder as Ratchet attempted to reach under his armor.

"Easy there Ratchet, are you trying to rip off my arm?" Optimus chuckled dryly.

"Me? Why? You practically let the Decepticons do that for you," Ratchet snorted as he shifted his servo into another tool and then proceeded to continue with his work. Optimus looked away thinking that that was the end of the conversation when Ratchet stopped to shift his hand again, "besides I wouldn't have to if you'd be more careful." Ratchet frowned at Optimus' expression and shrugged as he began to solder a connection.

Optimus decided to joke back, "hey, you think taking on Megatron is easy?" When he realized what he was saying as he stared at his trailer. '_Jazz,'_ he thought sadly,_ 'I really wish you were still here, old friend.'_ Jazz gone, any hope of restoring Cybertron and the perpetuation of their species gone. Optimus had returned full circle back to his greatest disappointment, himself, the last Prime. He had completely and utterly failed and wondered not for the first time and mostly likely not the last, that if Sentinel had stayed and he had gone with the Ark, would things have gone differently?

He felt a sharp strike to his helm and turned to stare at Ratchet in surprise, "what was that for?!"

"I've been around you long enough to know where your thoughts are going," groused the medical officer, "you did the best you could with what was dealt you. So stop wallowing."

"I wasn't wallowing," Optimus retorted, trying not to sound defensive.

Ratchet's brows rose as he waved a tool in front of the Prime's face threateningly, "you were. You know you're a terrible liar. Did you honestly think Jazz was the only 'bot around here who could read your moods? Just because I know how to fix your injuries doesn't mean I don't know how to recognize what's going on in your processor."

Ratchet leaned over to make sure Prime was looking at him directly, "I didn't have to while Jazz was around. Now I do. So let me remind you, I'm overworked just keeping you on line, if I have to play psychiatrist be warned, I'm not going to be gentle." Ratchet lightly tapped the Prime's helm again with his fist to get his attention and then winked.

The sound of approaching vehicles caused Ironhide to rise to his pedes positioning himself protectively over Optimus' seated frame as he reset his cannons, "incoming."

"They're expected and they're friendlies Ironhide, stand down. Ratchet, would you hold off on repairs?"

Ratchet nodded replacing the armor shoulder plate and secured it. They both stood up as Ironhide transformed his cannons back into his arms as he muttered and stepped back to join Optimus. The Prime rose to his pedes as three vehicles drove into the hangar.

The first car pulled aside as several men in black suits quickly disembarked and deployed to the hangar doors while the next car, carrying the Secretary of Defense John Keller and his aid, pulled to a stop in front of the trio of standing aliens. The last car, similar to the first, pulled over to the other side of the Secretary's limousine and deployed as well.

Ironhide twitched uncomfortably as these armed humans arrayed themselves around the hangar, he looked at Optimus silently to urge him to approve his prior readiness. Optimus shook his head earning him a grunt of disapproval from Ironhide, but the mech obeyed.

Several of the security detail regarded the mechanized leviathans warily, having never seen them before and were clearly nervous, except for Secretary Keller. When he caught a nervous look he would smile and nod to show confidence and authority which reassured his men.

'_Still_,' Secretary Keller mused to himself as he controlled his own fears, '_they are quite amazing and frightening, it's a good thing I've spent years dealing with politicians, helps me keep up a good game-face._' The secretary hadn't been selected by the President as Secretary of Defense for being meek or easily intimidated. As such, Secretary Keller took a moment to quickly scan the Autobots before him.

John had already met Optimus and Bumblebee, and in discussions with Captain Lennox assumed the imposing black robot that stood guard was no doubt Ironhide, the Prime's SIC. The bright green robot with medical markings was undoubtedly the medic, Ratchet. Keller smiled inwardly as said medic merely crossed his arms and snorted softly as he waited with barely controlled patience. It was curious to the secretary that they still retained their Earth mode armor. John found it distracting to look at living beings that were comprised of automobile parts as he recognized a review mirror, a license plate, or a windshield wiper.

Secretary Keller walked up to Optimus, "I know you prefer direct talk Optimus, so I'll get straight to the point. Many in our government see you as nothing more than giant weapons, not to be trusted. The damage and destruction of life and property at Hoover Dam and Mission City are glaring examples of what your people can do to our planet." Ironhide grunted behind Optimus who raised his hand to caution Ironhide.

"Please continue, John."

"There are also many who see you as a tactical advantage, leverage to be used to maintain global superiority and keep the more troubling nations at bay." Secretary Keller shifted his posture, clearly used to moving about but refrained himself from pacing as he spoke, "the United Nations has relayed concern to our government that any affiliation you have with _any_ power will create global instability. We sent your message to the United Nation's Security Council and your intentions not to share your technology has mollified things for the moment. However, the President has asked me to express his personal disappointment that you are unwilling to share your technology," Secretary Keller raised his hand to forestall Optimus' repeated insistence as to why that cannot be the case.

"Despite that, the President is currently meeting with the U.N. G-10 Security Council to finalize arrangements for a multi-national task force to work in cooperation with you and your three remaining Autobots to deal with the Decepticon threat."

"We hope this U.N. approved military agency will bypass any international bureaucratic delays in crossing borders to deal with any Decepticon incursions. The financial burden for this special unit is great and given you don't have any technology to trade, the United States is willing to 'foot the bill.' We hope other nations will join in. In the meantime, the President has asked me if you would reconsider and perhaps offer peaceful technology for us to off-set funding."

Optimus leaned back slightly, "I understand, please assure the President I will consider his request and if there is anything we possess of a benign nature, we will provide it in trade. In that light, it must also be made clear that any nation which cannot afford to assist _will_ still be protected from the Decepticons."

Ironhide vented a huge sigh and muttered 'politics,' rolling his eyes and sauntered to the hangar entrance. His imposing presence caused several within the Secretary's car caravan to flinch. Not unnoticed and ever eager to exert dominance, Ironhide reactivated a cannon as he walked that caused one or two humans to jump back in fear as they raised their weapons in response. Optimus closed his optics for a moment in annoyance as his friend's face bloomed into a huge smile. Secretary Keller watched the scene and looked to Optimus and nodded in mutual understanding as the Prime sent a private comm to his SIC,_ 'Ironhide….'_

When the black mech reached the entrance he turned and saluted his Prime, his cannon transforming back into his hand. Unfortunately he wasn't able to completely wipe the smirk off his face.

The Secretary turned to regard the Prime once more, "as we've previously discussed, your command will be allowed access to any nation threatened by Decepticons. The human military team tentatively being assigned with you will be referred to as NEST based on our soon to be formalized "Non-biological Extraterrestrial Species Treaty." We are working on using existing bases as well as building new installations on each continent to aid in deployment to any affected areas, given your lack of flight capability. The United States will be sending you a list of candidates as well as other nations. I have appointed General Glenn Moreshower, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the United States to work with you and NEST directly. He will act as a military liaison and buffer with our government."

"However," John added, "there is one request the President has refused. He insists the 'shard' be held by our forces as a proof of your cooperation."

Optimus frowned at this unexpected request, "John, the Shard is what remains of our heritage, an ancient artifact of great cultural significance as it held the power of life for my people and that includes the Decepticons. I will need to consider this request." Secretary Keller nodded as Optimus stood and paced deeper into the hangar.

Ratchet joined the Prime to voice his concerns in Cybertronian, "if the Decepticons learn a piece of the AllSpark exists, there's nothing humanity has that can protect it."

"I know," Optimus responded in kind, the mixture of noises and sounds echoed in the hangar. Although they talked softly, the concrete flooring coupled with the metallic hangar walls caused the sounds to reverberate making the humans present twinge in discomfort. Optimus stared at the ceiling of the hangar and carefully weighed options. Then he closed his optics and reached out to the Matrix, a habit he maintained despite the consistent lack of results, and with a shake of his helm he returned to the elderly human and knelt.

"Secretary Keller, I will honor this request only because I believe the Decepticons think the AllSpark is destroyed. Give your President this warning. Should the Decepticons learn a piece of the AllSpark exists, your military has no defensive technology advanced enough defend yourselves from them. If your President is willing to accept that risk and responsibility for the loss of human life as a result, then as a show of cooperation I accept, with great misgivings."

"Understood. I will relay this discussion to the President. In the meantime, we've set up primary NEST headquarters on an island called Diego Garcia. A cargo plane will be arriving shortly to take you and your men there. You'll have ample opportunity to meet with the candidates and make selections as well as outline the supplies needed for your own personal needs as well as that for NEST."

Ratchet stepped up, "would those requests include equipment?"

"Depends on what you ask for. Prepare your request and we'll go from there," answered the secretary as he nodded to the medic. Then he returned his regard to the Prime, "Optimus Prime, the President accepts your request for Bumblebee to remain as a guardian to Sam Witwicky and his family. Because they are United States citizens we will also maintain security for the family. This will be done covertly so the family will be unaware of the extra security."

The Secretary paused and placed a hand on the bent knee and spoke softly, "Optimus, I wish to personally convey to you and your team my sorrow at the loss of your compatriot Jazz."

"Thank you Secretary Keller," responded Optimus surprised at the comment and lowered his head in gratitude, "and to you and your Country for the loss of your men and women." Secretary Keller nodded his thanks and stepped back which allowed Optimus to stand. Optimus' deep voice filled the hangar indicating a close to their meeting, "please tender our thanks to your President and to the United Nations for allowing us to remain and assist you in defending your planet from the Decepticons."

Secretary Keller stepped back and nodded, "I wish I could stay until the transport arrives, but I'm needed back in Washington for further discussions with the President, as well as briefing the different Senatorial Committees, something I'm definitely not looking forward to. Please enjoy your trip and thank you for aiding us," he said with a tired smile.

Optimus smiled, "I bid you a safe journey, John."

Secretary Keller waved as he returned to his vehicle. Within moments the security detail swiftly boarded and sped out of the hangar leaving the three Autobots standing alone in the empty hangar lost in their own thoughts about the coming days.

Optimus canted his head as his audios picked up the drone of a large aircraft and then turned to Ratchet, "when we arrive at Diego Garcia, I'd like you to setup communications and computer systems, in secret of course."

"Of course," concurred Ratchet as the pair joined Ironhide at the front of the hangar to watch the arrival of an Air Force cargo plane. Several military vehicles rolled to a stop in front of the open hangar discharging soldiers who had recently served with the Autobots in Mission City.

Once the aircraft completed landing it rolled to a stop near the secured hangar and lowered its loading ramp. Several Air Force personnel strode down the ramp as Captain Lennox exited one of the newly arrived military vehicles and met them mid-way. A brief discussion was had with Lennox making gestures and nods, then the group split, the pilots to a rest area and Lennox towards the bots.

"Hey!" He shouted and waved as he walked closer, "looks like we're going to be tagging along with you guys to Diego Garcia. We've been selected as NEST candidates. _But_ before we go we'll be making a small diversion to California for a brief stop-over before we head over to our assignment."

"Captain Lennox, I'm glad to hear you'll be part of this joint operation." Optimus walked closer and then knelt to make it easier to speak with the officer, "I'm curious, why are we stopping in… California and not proceeding directly to Diego Garcia?"

"Most of us who are going with you are from California. The JCS has authorized a two week leave for us to visit with family and add additional gear before transferring. I thought, since it'll be near Bumblebee and Sam, you wouldn't mind delaying the trip. JCS agreed. Was I wrong? Did you want to go straight to Diego Garcia?"

Optimus smiled, "you and your men deserve the time to rest and visit with family and as long as we're near a base and can mobilize should the Decepticons attack, I see no reason why we can't take advantage and rest as well."

"Great! I'll call Sam and let him know to expect you guys. It's going to take some time to load you three on the plane, as well as fuel and equipment. Oh and we'll need to load you in your vehicle… selves so we can strap you down. It's a weight and balance thing for the aircraft, a big deal to these pilots. Alright?"

"If that will make transporting us easier just let us know when you're ready."

"Okay, be right back," the captain said as he turned and dashed over to the building the pilots had entered. As he left the men who were candidates to join NEST unloaded their gear from the truck and piled them up by the hangar door. Optimus and the other bots sat down to talk as arrangements were made.

While the men and bots waited for the aircraft to be readied for flight, time stretched into an hour of inactivity. Instead of complaining at the delay they gratefully accepted the quiet and rested. Some sat and talked, others played cards or made phone calls, a few braved the pilots lounge for food, and a some simply stretched out on the still warm pavement using their jackets as pillows to sleep. It was Las Vegas after all and the cement in places was still very hot from the sun. They all knew through experience things could go from dull to frenetic instantaneously, so moments like these were quickly taken advantage of.

Ironhide watched the men as he sat down near the entry of the hangar and spoke in Cybertronian, "hey Prime."

"Yes?" Both noted a change in some of the men, clearly discomfited by the language. Since they were allies, Optimus quickly switched to English, "yes Ironhide?"

"Not so different from us are they," he said softly as he shifted his arm transforming it to his cannon as he pulled a tool from subspace to make some minor repairs.

Sergeant Epps was one of the men taking the opportunity to sleep when he pulled his arm away from his face, "are you kidding? I'm not a 30 foot tall giant armored robot!"

"That's not what ah meant, although it would be helpful if you were," Ironhide responded as he gently pushed the barrel of his cannon into Epps' ribs, "ah meant how all of you are behaving right now. We do the same after a battle, do you understand?"

"You mean nothing?" Epps frowned as he rubbed his face and looked at the men around him tiredly.

"What you're doing is not nothing," Optimus pointed out, "you are resting, talking, allowing yourselves a moment of peace before the next battle."

Ratchet walked over and pushed Ironhide's servo aside grumbling softly, "lemme see that." Ironhide complied with a sigh and held out his weapon for the medic to repair.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Hey, I don't see Bumblebee around is he okay?"

Ratchet nodded, "he's fine, he's taking Sam and Mikaela home."

"In that respect, we're not alike. None of us can get our legs back like that," Epps said bitterly.

"Then we will train you to make sure that doesn't happen," Ironhide said as Ratchet waved at him to test the repairs. Ironhide shifted his arm and then activated his cannon causing several of the humans to start in surprise at the sound.

"See that you do," Epps said as he lowered himself back to the concrete, "my wife'd kill me if I came back missing a limb, she'd insist I did it on purpose to get out of doing chores."

"Why would your wife think that," Ironhide asked puzzled as he deactivated his cannon and transformed his arm back.

"It's a joke Ironhide," Epps said, "my wife's run ragged raising four kids alone while I'm off doing this. The minute I get home she's nice enough to let me get a good night's sleep and then in the morning hits me with a list of 'honey do's. If I was injured, I wouldn't be able to do the chores so she'd say it was an excuse to get out of doing them. Make sense?"

"No, not really," Ironhide said with a sigh, "honey do's? A wife, is that like a bonded mate?"

"A what?" Epps said as he stood up to stretch as the other airmen and army soldiers stopped their various activities to listen into the conversation.

Optimus nodded, "yes, I believe it's similar."

"Oh. Well, Chromia did tease me now and then," Ironhide said as he looked off to the mountains and thought about the blue femme. Captain Lennox stepped out of the pilot's lounge and headed over to the waiting unit.

"Chromia, she's your wife," Epps asked.

"Yes." Ironhide stood abruptly, nodded and walked back into the hangar. Lennox and Epps stared at each other as they digested the information and his reaction.

Optimus noting their response added, "they have been parted for a very long time." The men nodded and drifted off as the humans assembled thought about their own spouses and girlfriends.

Ratchet walked into the hangar and when he saw Ironhide leaning against Prime's trailer, joined him, "are you alright?"

"Yes," he answered with weary patience, "and ah can still feel her, if that's what you're askin'. It's not much, but it's something."

Ratchet nodded, "it's something." The pair stood in the hangar in silence as they again waited to board the aircraft.

20 minutes later the pilots exited the lounge as the fuel trucks departed from the aircraft. With military precision both men and Cybertronians, in vehicle mode, queued up to the craft. It took time for everyone to load, especially Prime and his trailer, but once all were secure the aircraft engaged its engines and waited for permission from the tower. With slow ponderous effort, the giant aircraft lifted itself off the runway and into the evening sky, banking towards California.

The flight was not long and with clearance approved the C-17 Globemaster gracefully landed at Edwards Air Force Base. Once the craft had all its cargo disembarked, a special hangar was set aside for the Autobots as the humans made their way to temporary quarters to rest and make arrangements to visit their families.

Colonel Lennox walked up to the three bots as they settled in for the night, "hey uh, Optimus. I was wondering if I could ask one of you for a favor?" Optimus nodded encouragingly so the officer continued, "my wife has the car and I thought it would be nice to surprise her. Instead of renting a vehicle I was wondering if one of you might drive me home?"

Optimus regarded his companions noting Ratchet's emphatic shake and then at Ironhide, "of the three of us I believe Ironhide would be the least conspicuous. Ironhide?"

"Ah don't mind, it'd be nice to just drive around, clear my processor. Sure Colonel, ah'll drive ya home. Just get me in the mornin' when you're ready to leave."

Bill grinned widely, "thanks, I can't tell you how much I appreciate this. She's going to be so surprised, I can't wait! See you in the morning!" The hangar echoed the human's bootsteps as he exited the hangar leaving the three Autobots to settle down for the night to recharge, exhausted. Normally Optimus would set a watch but decided not to, simply setting his system to a light recharge and activated his energon warning sensors. He was relatively certain Megatron's recent defeat would keep the Decepticons off-kilter enough that they could rest in safety tonight.

—◊◊—◊◊—◊◊—

The next morning, Lennox arrived bouncing as he carried his luggage with him chatting merrily. In a blink, Ironhide and Lennox were speeding out of the hangar leaving Optimus and Ratchet alone. Optimus activated his comms to contact Bumblebee and informed him of their change in plans. Bumblebee greeted the news with eagerness as they made arrangements to meet later that evening as Sam and Mikaela were still resting from their adventures. Once the conversation ended, silence again descended on the hangar. Ratchet chose to take the opportunity to fall back into recharge while Optimus considered their situation.

If the Decepticons came in force, all he had to stand against them were four Autobots and humanity. Recalling Epp's comments about humans not being as easily repaired as bots brought home the fragile nature of humanity and their limited combat technology. They were fierce fighters but they lacked the necessary armor to protect themselves from Decepticon shells and laser weapons. Then there were the comments from Epps and Lennox about their wives which had him thinking about how much he missed Elita. Truth be told, he was tired of going against greater Decepticon forces with the barest minimum of troops and having to watch them fall. The Decepticons didn't hold back and if they knew Megatron was here, dead or not, they would come. Optimus rubbed his chin as he weighed options.

Optimus rose quietly so he would not disturb Ratchet and headed out of the hangar to find one of their human associates to arrange a telephonic meeting with the JCS. Once that was accomplished a meeting was arranged for Optimus to discuss his concerns with the JCS. He held nothing back, told them bluntly of the size disparity between forces and the vulnerabilities of protecting such a large planet with only four Autobots. He expressed his concerns for the men and women forced into combat and the amount of lives lost because they were inadequately prepared. He stressed his concerns for the safety of their people and their world and whether or not he and his three Autobots would be enough to defend it. So he put forth his request, would the JCS allow him to call for more forces to aid in defending against the Decepticons?

Initially the JCS planned to disapprove but Optimus' approach and manner made the difference. Optimus did not intimidate nor threaten he simply discussed his reasoning in a manner that suggested it was in direct proportion to the threat and not the move of a politically ambitious leader. General Moreshower was convinced that had the JCS said no, Optimus would have accepted without argument. In the short telephone conversation the JCS was left with the impression that the alien leader's purposes were genuine. Optimus' response validated their reasoning when the Autobot leader, clearly expecting the JCS to refuse, had to have them confirm their approval. Once he realized permission had been granted he thanked them with sincere gratitude.

When he returned to the hangar, Ratchet was out of recharge working on his own systems so Optimus relayed the discussion. Both Autobots sat and mulled over the ramifications this request would bring and if the JCS fully realized that in doing so they were making Earth center stage in the Cybertronian war.

Hours passed as Optimus helped Ratchet make repairs until it was time to leave to meet up with Bumblebee in Tranquility. Optimus and Ratchet drove off the air force base and enjoyed a peaceful drive as they looked forward to meet up with their comrades. There would be plenty of time to weigh actions later, when they returned.

—◊◊—◊◊—◊◊—

Ironhide's drive to Lennox's home was silent at first as he wove his way through city traffic following occasional directions from the human. Bill had to admit it was hard not to take control of the vehicle and instead watched rather disconcerted as the steering wheel moved by itself. Since they were high enough above most of the cars on the road Bill simply placed a hand in his lap while he drummed his fingers on the seat.

"What's botherin' ya," Ironhide said in response to the tapping.

"What? Nothing," Bill responded unaware that his nervous twiddling was being felt by his ride.

Ironhide hummed to indicate he disbelieved his companion's response, "that tapping you're doing is starting to irritate me, ya know."

"My what?" Bill looked down and paused looking at his fingers in surprise, "oh, I guess I… you felt that huh? Man that must feel weird having someone sitting inside of you like this."

"Yes and no," Ironhide answered, "there are smaller Cybertronians who've ridden inside me from time to time, although they didn't fidget as much as you do."

Bill chuckled, "yeah, bad habit I know. Just wait until I start tapping my feet."

Ironhide responded dryly, "how about we say you don't, alright?"

"And where's the fun in that? Boy Ironhide you're a crusty old robot aren't you," Bill said as he crossed his arms over his chest to keep from fidgeting and stretched out his legs taking care not to touch the pedals.

"Crusty? Oh, well ah guess ah do need some time in the washracks," Ironhide said as he slowed to a stop at a light.

William burst out laughing, "you need to brush up on human colloquialisms, I meant you're grumpy."

"Oh, ah see, you're messing with me," Ironhide's voice dropped warningly as the seatbelt across Bill's chest tightened, "haven't they told you it's the old ones you gotta watch out for?"

"Okay, okay, sorry," Bill gasped as he pulled at the seat belt and then heaved a sigh of relief when it eased. "No teasing the giant robot, got it."

"Oh, now ah didn't say you couldn't tease me," Ironhide responded his voice coming over the speakers had a definite smirk to them, "ah like a joke or prank as much as the next bot, just expect appropriate retaliation, is all ah'm sayin'."

Bill shook his head, "I'll keep that in mind. So, you guys joke and prank too huh?"

"Not often. The younger ones mostly, to let off some steam. Though most know not to mess with me, ah tend to be rather, exacting in my revenge." Ironhide chuckled evilly.

"Ooohkay," Bill said, "let's talk about something else then. How long have you been an Autobot?"

"Long time, before Optimus became Prime. Ah wasn't exactly inta fightin' but had knack for weapons that just led me into the regulars. Came up in the ranks and ah managed to get noticed by Sentinel Prime. Was assigned as one of his bodyguards, he was Prime before Optimus, before the war. Ah was there the day they selected Optimus and ah liked the metal of that bot, so ah assigned myself as his bodyguard. Wasn't a big deal to Sentinel as he had plenty, but it sure made an impact on Optimus. Talk about a green cadet, optics as big as grenades when they made him Prime."

"Optimus, really? I've seen him fight and he's no slouch, well, neither are you for that matter. But… well, I just can't imagine it."

"Optimus wasn't a fighter, not like me at first but ah took him under my wing and trained him. Became good friends, can't ask for a better mech to watch your back than Prime."

Bill couldn't help but notice the respect and warmth in the mech's words, "you all have been fighting together for a long time, I gather."

"You could say that," Ironhide snorted, "give or take a millennia or two."

Bill whistled, "long time."

"Yep." The pair drove along in silence as the traffic moved and stopped as the traffic lights commanded. With a few more directions they started to edge their way out of the city.

"Oh, uh, my wife has no idea about you guys and we're supposed to keep you secret. So keep it low-key. She's already freaked out enough since the news led her to believe I was dead. Again, I want to thank you for driving me out there to surprise her, it means a great deal to me."

"Ah understand, have a mate myself. What's yer wife's name?"

"Sarah and we've got a baby girl, Annabelle," he said a pleased but wistful smile bloomed across his face, "she was born while I was away. This will be the first time I've seen her face to face."

"Born?"

"Uh, you know…," Bill paused uncomfortably, "do you know anything about how humans… have babies?"

"Nope," Ironhide responded helpfully. Bill rubbed his face and head making his hair spike up untidily as he groaned.

"Never thought I'd have to explain the birds and the bees to an ancient robot," Bill muttered to himself.

"I may be ancient, but I can still kick your aft."

"Yeah, not helping here," Bill frowned, "okay, human 101. Male and females get together and they uh, well they…"

"Interface?"

Bill scowled as he heard the tone, clearly Ironhide was laughing at him, "if you know already then I don't need to tell you."

"Ah'm just helpin'."

"Well stop, this is embarrassing enough as it is."

"Why?" Bill stopped his mouth open as he blinked at the response.

"Well… well, humans are a bit… well private about their intimate relations."

"Ahhh, ah gotcha. Yer like Prime all quiet about his femme, until ah add a little high grade to the mix. That mech certainly opens up with a few cubes in his tank."

"Femmes?"

"Females, ah think you call 'em, right? Mikaela's a femme, Sam's a mech. Make sense now?"

"Ooohkay," Bill drew out the word as he tried to think of what to say in response as his mind whirled, "you bots have sex?"

"Sex? Wait, Bee said the web was quite informative, give me a bit," Ironhide said and the cabin was filled with silence and then Ironhide started to chuckle, "well, not exactly but close enough without goin' inta details."

"I did not need to know that," Bill muttered under his breath, "ANYway, Sarah's my wife and she and I, well, she and I created Annabelle."

"How'd ya do that? You got places that make organic protoforms to put the spark in?"

"Uh what?"

"Nevah mind, just keep talkin," Ironhide said impatiently.

"The baby grows inside of the woman and when it's fully mature, it comes out… please don't ask for details."

"The femme makes the sparkling's body inside o' hers," Ironhide muttered as he searched, "ya know there's quite a lot of pictures on your web. Ah didn't realize bein' organic was so… messy."

"Messy."

"Yep, messy."

"Can't argue with that. So how do you make babies?"

"Well look at that, we're here Bill," Ironhide smirked as he pulled up a dirt driveway to a small home.

"Timing's everything isn't it?" Bill responded dryly.

"Sure is, so, you gonna show me this sparkling you and yer wife created?"

"You sure you wanna see a messy organic baby?"

"Ah may be 'crusty' but ah love sparklings, helped raise Bumblebee."

"You did? Sounds like stories for another time. Just pull up to the garage and wait there," Bill said as Ironhide rolled to a stop and then he jumped out of the truck. As soon as his feet hit the ground, Bill's excitement increased his speed as he suddenly found himself at the front door. He knocked and waited impatiently, bouncing on his heels as he heard a woman's voice shout, "be right there!"

Bill stepped back as the screen door opened to a beautiful woman holding an infant to her chest. The looks on their faces melted into tears as they rushed at each other, arms wrapping around the other tightly. The only thing stopping their embrace was a whimper from Annabelle who was being slightly squished between two emotional parents.

Once Bill heard the whimper he swooped down and grabbed the small child in his arms and lifted her up in the air cooing nonsensical noises as he spun about. When he caught a glimpse of the black Topkick he stopped mid-twirl to grab his wife and drag her over to the truck.

"Sarah, Annabelle, I'd like you to meet my truck Ironhide. Ironhide, I'd like you to meet my beautiful wife Sarah and my beautiful daughter Annabelle. Annabelle, don't drool on the truck, he doesn't like it," Bill burst out with laughter as his wife regarded him with concern.

"Nice truck honey. Now let's get inside, dinner's waiting and Annabelle's up past her bedtime," Sarah said as she scooped her baby from her husband's arms. "Don't forget your gear, no doubt you've brought home loads of dirty laundry for me to do before you have to go back and I'd like to get started on it tonight."

Bill leaned against Ironhide's fender as she walked back into the house with a sigh, "aren't they the most beautiful women you've ever seen?"

"Yep. Just as beautiful as my Chromia and certainly worth fighting for," Ironhide said enjoying the company, "don't forget yer bags, don't particularly feel like smelling of stinky human laundry."

"Oh, yeah," Bill said startled out of his thoughts as he dashed around to retrieve his bags. He walked up to the porch and dropped the bags and then returned to the Topkick, "don't forget to pick me up, alright."

Sarah stepped out the door again with her child in her arms. The look on her face was priceless as she looked rather comically at her husband thinking it was rather funny Will had not only named a truck but was still talking to it. She sighed having grown rather used to his whimsical nature, he hadn't been nicknamed "Wild Bill" for nothing after all.

Frankly, as far as Sarah was concerned she would happily put up with his humor as long as he came back home to her. As Sarah and Annabelle walked back into the house carrying one of Bill's bags, Lennox tapped on Ironhide's hood reminding him again not to forget to pick him up. Ironhide left the family feeling a lightness of spark he hadn't felt in some time. When the family turned to go back inside Ironhide started his engine and reversed in the driveway so he wouldn't have to head down the drive backwards.

Once his was aligned properly he pulled away and caught sight of Sarah, punching Will in the arm from his rearview and laughed thinking immediately of Chromia. It was something she would do to him for scaring her. He mused that Sarah was no doubt threatening the male she'd do worse next time he pulled a stunt like that. Ironhide chuckled remembering similar moments with his beloved Chromia as he rolled down the drive. He'd have to remember asking Bill if that's what happened as he drove along the road.

"Bill?" Sarah said warily as she closed the door as the Topkick drove down the road, "your truck's leaving."

"Oh, one of the guys from base is taking him back for some work, he'll be back to pick me up when my leave is up," Bill said as he dropped the last bag in the laundry room and then headed to the kitchen sink to wash.

"You took time to introduce me to the truck but not to one of the men you work with?" Sarah said with a frown as she buckled Annabelle into a high-chair.

"Uh, well… ooohhh chili, you made chili. Man I've missed your chili," he muttered as he grabbed a bowl and started to ladle a generous amount. Annabelle started to cry forcing Sarah to sit down and put a bottle in her hands and some finger treats on the tray. Bill smiled as he sat down and began to spoon cheese and onions on top of his chili.

"Not too many onions Bill," Sarah smirked and then winked which made Bill pause, spoon mid-way to his opened mouth. He grinned and then proceeded to shove the contents of the bowl as quickly into his mouth as he could chew.

"Easy there hun, there's no reason to hurry," Sarah laughed as she took the empty bottle from Annabelle and then picked her up out of the chair to burp her.

"Sure is, I've only got two weeks and I plan to make every minute count," he said as he scraped the bowl with his finger and thrust it in his mouth.

She rolled her eyes and turned the baby away from his father, "don't you dare pick up your father's table manners, you hear me?" She frowned her nose at her husband as she carried her daughter away.

As the Lennox family settled in for the night, Ironhide drove to meet his own 'family' as he went to regroup with the rest of the team in Tranquility. As the sun dropped lower in the sky, the Autobots met on a hilltop overlooking the town and parked to watch the beauty of the sunset as well as enjoy quiet companionship.

Bumblebee twitched with a combination of discomfort and intrigue as Sam and Mikaela lounged on his hood kissing. The human's activities earned Bumblebee a few commed teases of a rather risqué nature from Ironhide. Optimus and Ratchet chose to ignore the exchange and continued to watch as the sun drifted lower. Making his decision Optimus transformed into his bi-pedal form to look up at the sky as the stars slowly appeared.

Ratchet watched as the leader paced, "still trying to decide?"

"Bringing Earth into our conflict is troubling Ratchet, they are so young and ill-equipped. But to ignore the fact that the Decepticons _are_ here and not prepare them would be a mistake. The Joint Chiefs and General Moreshower agree. As long as the Decepticons know of Earth's existence it's only a matter of time before they discover Earth's resources and they will, and they will come in force…"

"Sounds like you've made your decision then."

"It appears so," Optimus said as he paused to gather his thoughts, then he opened his long range comm., "with the AllSpark gone…"

* * *

_A/N: Answers to potential questions: _

_Q1: How Optimus became Prime was liberally taken from TP and maybe the books (haven't read them in a while)._

_Q2: Location for Tranquility: Can't find anywhere that gives a specific location, so I chose Palmdale, near LA, sort of._

_Q3: Will Optimus be emo all the time? No. But he is a multi-faceted being and as such would feel deeply. _

_Q4: The Matrix was a conundrum, so my tweak is that Optimus believes he holds the true Matrix of Leadership, a nod to G1, which will blend with the Bay verse later on._

_Q5: Why is Ironhide speaking oddly? Ironhide's original voice was done by Peter Cullen with a sort of southern drawl that I absolutely adored but I also enjoyed the voice from the Bay movie. I enjoyed both representations of the character (except for looks, I preferred G1 over the Bay look). So, if you prefer the Bay voice, read the story with that in mind. _


	2. Chapter 2 -- Decepticons

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! This chapter backtracks a bit to establish some points later on in the story, so bear with. I promise, there will be more bots, including the femmes! I'll be using Earth years for a common reference. And last, I apologize for any typos… Despite proofreading several times before posting I always find more later *sigh*. If you find any I'll fix em! Again, thank you for reading!

Cybertronian/Earth Time Reference:

Groon/about 1 Earth hour

Orn/about 1 Earth day

Orbital Cycle/about 1 Earth year

Vorn/about 83 Earth years

Chapter Two – The Decepticons

- Earth Calendar Year 1947 -

Soundwave sat in front of the Decepticon destroyer _Fury's_ communications command console as he quietly paged through various intelligence reports while the current commander of all Decepticon forces StarScream, paced back and forth across the bridge muttering. Soundwave showed no interest in the commander's unending stream of complaints, which ranged from energon shortages to the lack of appropriate weaponry being provided by Shockwave, that was the price of leadership.

StarScream was the commander of all seeker forces but with Megatron still missing, managing the entire faction had left him overwhelmed. As far as Soundwave was concerned StarScream leading the Decepticons made sense. Just as it made sense that he would continue to devote his time between gathering intelligence on the Autobots while he continued to search for Megatron and the AllSpark. StarScream's fantasies of glory as said mech behind him continued on with his ranting, hadn't included the mundane, boring, and sometimes quite frustrating normal orn-to-orn operations of running a military organization.

As for the troops, Decepticon forces for the most part had accepted Megatron's absence without question. The only reaction came from boredom as a few enterprising bots started a betting pool on what happened to their leader. Soundwave monitored this unapproved activity with tolerance and left that information out of his reports to StarScream. Since it did not appear to affect their duties, despite growing lax discipline, it did provide him another venue with which to track moral based upon the direction of the betting. At present, 'searching for the AllSpark' was still the favorite leading him to believe morale to be high. Some of the betting options were humorous including one that suggested 'he lost track of time 'interrogating' Elita 1' but what gave him greater concern were those that indicated 'abdication' and 'termination,' which had been rising steadily within the rankings these past 100 vorns.

Soundwave lowered his audios when StarScream starting shouting orders in frustration. He bemoaned StarScream's lack of charisma and leadership skills but frankly, what bot could compare to Megatron? As it was, of the command staff, StarScream was better than either he or Shockwave to lead. Did that upset him? Not at all. He enjoyed what he did as did Shockwave, it was not the most perfect solution but it worked because the Decepticons still remained as a cohesive fighting force. Disbanding was unthinkable because the alternative was unacceptable, which was surrender to the Autobots.

The fact that newest Prime had made the necessary changes to the laws that provoked the conflict to begin with was irrelevant to Soundwave. As long as the Council still existed somewhere, potential reversal was inevitable because he had no faith in the character of a 'Prime'. So through a massive and ongoing propaganda campaign disparaging the Autobots, he helped keep the troops in line and in service to Megatron.

If anyone had ever thought to ask Soundwave why he was a Decepticon he would have told them it was because he hated the near religious reverence of the designation of Prime. To a bot who dealt with information, it seemed illogical to put an entire government's direction on a small device purported to bear the will of Primus. Was Primus real? Where was there proof if Primus was real, that the device came from him? Had anybot ever verified the Matrix was the true Matrix? Was it ever tested? Until those questions and more could be answered to his satisfaction he would rather put faith in Megatron.

Soundwave did nothing to alleviate StarScream's command difficulties because it was none of his concern unless it directly affected those under _his_ command. His covert operations teams were more focused and professional. They had to be because if they weren't they were replaced and that didn't mean transfer. If Shockwave was feared for his lack of morality in placing his quest for scientific advancement above the lives of his troops, Soundwave was his equal in the arena of communications and espionage. Failure was not tolerated and reprimands were swift and deadly. It was an effective method in obtaining the best out of his troops, after all.

A ping from the system redirected his attention from reports to a message from one of his surveillance outposts. The caption alone grabbed his full attention as he quickly opened the file. The report was simple but spark-stopping for the mech who had spent millions of orbital cycles searching for his missing leader. The report indicated trace readings synonymous with the AllSpark and even more significant, a possible landing site. Soundwave knew his leader would not have strayed from his mission so if the Cube had made landfall then Megatron would be there as well. Soundwave looked away from the monitor to control his emotions and focus his processor as excitement he rarely felt thrummed through his frame.

Once his emotions were contained he ran through options and quickly selected his course of action. Standing, he intentionally walked in front StarScream interrupting the pacing bot and earning him a sharp rebuke, "what?!"

Soundwave's monotone voice instantly silenced the bridge crew's normal conversations as they listened intently, "an energy signature identical to the AllSpark has been detected. I am leaving with a small team to investigate." Before StarScream could comment the tall mech spun on his pede and left the stunned commander blinking in his wake.

Before the door slid shut and to save face StarScream hastily added, "that's good, keep me posted."

Within moments the communications and covert operations officer entered his quarters as he summoned his mini-cons. Once they arrived and were loaded he sent orders to his 'listening' outposts closest to the solar system in question. They were to focus on the presumed location, do full spectrum scans and analysis, and hold their reports until he arrived. Once that was complete he exited his quarters and headed to the ship's experimental equipment locker where he retrieved a portable warp drive, one of Shockwave's potential improvements for standard combat seekers.

Once it was attached and synchronized to his systems, he headed up to the launch deck and with the grace of a well-trained athlete thrust himself out into space transforming into a small sleek, silvery spacecraft. He fired his thrusters for positioning as he entered the coordinates into the warp computer. The fact that the device had never been field tested never entered his processor as he activated the warp drive. His faith in Shockwave and his inventions was proven again, as he successfully warped into the Sol System.

Upon arrival however, the drive's inner core went critical which did not provoke undue distress as it had served its purpose. Soundwave calmly ejected the device, transformed and rolled into position leveling his arm cannon at the device and destroyed it before it detonated. The fact that he was now stranded didn't bother him as he transformed back into flight mode, executed a tight roll, and engaged thrusters.

His current spacecraft alt was sleek and streamlined, an intentional choice geared specifically for evasion and detection avoidance. The fact that his form in both modes was also pleasing to the optics was not a coincidence. He may be a military by-the-book mech but he was a mech and despite rumors to the contrary he enjoyed and encouraged occasional liaisons with willing femmes.

As he glided through space his surveillance system picked up trace AllSpark particles that seemed to follow a planet orbiting a yellow star. He scanned the planet, third from the star, and picked up faint electronic signals synonymous with a sentient civilization. Pings on his comms indicated incoming reports showing his outposts observed his arrival. With pride in the excellence of his surveillance teams, he quickly reviewed the reports which confirmed findings. He trained his delicate sensor array on the third planet, small by Cybertronian standards with only one moon, and altered his course. Once he reached the planet he quickly calculated entry into the planet's atmosphere while at the same time doing a brief survey of the planet's terrain, most of which was covered in liquid.

The only hindrance to his landing and search would be the two poles due to their magnetic pull and extreme temperatures. His entry into the planet's atmosphere was flawless. In order to avoid any possible scanning technology the inhabitants may possess Soundwave flew within the planet's exosphere to initiate a search pattern.

Although his systems confirmed diffused AllSpark energy the actual location was impossible to pinpoint. Adding to his frustration was his inability to locate Megatron's life signal. As he completed another pass Soundwave's concern grew, was his leader somewhere else or worse off-lined? Falling back on protocol, he ran a standard Decepticon hail sequence and waited for a response he knew wouldn't come. Once he'd completed a systematic search he landed on one of the larger continents to consider his options, a place the organics called Nebraska, to formulate his strategy and fall back on reason.

Without a doubt the AllSpark was here but its location appeared to be shielded, intentionally, a reasonable conclusion given the nature of the AllSpark itself since any natural planetary feature could not diffuse the AllSpark's strong signal without manipulation. Knowing Megatron as well as he did, Soundwave thought it highly unlikely he'd abandon his mission, so that would mean Megatron should be here as well. Scans showed clearly that the inhabitant's technology and weaponry would not have brought him down. So what did? Clearly not Autobots as he'd picked up no Cybertronian signatures. Lacking any other information, the only solution was for him to find the Cube and hope that Megatron was there.

In the meantime, he needed to gather intelligence so he ejected his mini-cons. The planet's information systems weren't networked which he would remedy in time. However, until then he would use his mini-cons to roam and retrieve data. As they deployed Soundwave began scans to determine a safe location in which to build his base of operations.

-Earth Calendar Year 1958—

Even Soundwave's patience had its limits especially when his goal was seemingly so close but still elusive. His frustration was growing and he realized he needed to defuse it before he made any mistakes. To distract himself from the tedium of searching and human pawn manipulation, he decided to review his 'collection'. One of the interesting benefits of acquiring information was what one could do with it. Soundwave never discarded what he acquired in case there was some future use he could gain from it. Such decisions weren't always fruitful but in this instance he'd found something to distract his processor.

Before the war, Soundwave had been a dealer and collector of historical information, rare data. In one acquisition he'd come across an old filament telling of a planet of organics that had been visited by beings that could only be described as Cybertronian. That information was not unusual as Cybertronians were natural space explorers. What was interesting about the story was not only its age definitely pre-war, perhaps even pre-Golden Age but also that the planet was populated by sentient organics.

The record described the arrival of an alien race searching for a crystalline substance. A wealthy merchant sold the crystal in exchange for a body like theirs. The transaction was made and the aliens moved on. The new body functioned properly and the merchant enjoyed an almost immortal existence. After generations of his people passing on, for some unknown reason he went mad. He attempted to take over their world but the organics fought back. The devastation was horrific culminating in a last ditch attempt to destroy the merchant. The organics used an untested explosive device which successfully killed the converted organic but in turn poisoned their world with harmful radiation. Soundwave thought the story was more of a cautionary tale, similar to others he retrieved from younger worlds but now that he was on a planet filled with organic beings it gave him an idea.

With the Cube missing there was no way to increase Decepticon forces. But, what if that tale was true? He had an entire planet filled with organics to experiment on and if he was successful he could increase their fighting force and finally, decisively, destroy the Autobots.

In the end did it really matter if it worked? No, organics were a lower form of life so the losses due to failure would be acceptable. Plus it offered him the necessary diversion needed to maintain his focus. However, the ability to deal with matter conversion was more Shockwave's area of expertise. So he contacted Shockwave to present his theory and to see if he could provoke a similar interest. Shockwave likewise thought the idea amusing and accepted the challenge.

-Earth Calendar Year 1959-

Discussions and research continued between the two Decepticon commanders. Any information or theories to be tested were fed through Soundwave's growing human network and disseminated through a variety of sources in the human scientific, technological, and medical communities. It made sense, since Soundwave lacked personnel and resources, why not use what the planet had to offer since there was an abundance of both.

Information dissemination came about in many ways. Some in practical advances others in the form of papers and articles. One such paper was written by a renowned physicist, Richard Feynman, who described a theory of synthesis via direct manipulation of atoms. It was the catalyst for an area of science later known as nanotechnology, which coincidentally happened to be part of Cybertronian biology.

Despite Soundwave's successes in manipulating humanity politically, economically, as well as redirecting their technology, he was unable to find the Cube or Megatron. His mini-cons had picked up rumors of different covert agencies which dealt with extraterrestrial life but none of his operatives had connections, so he was still trying to find someone to get inside. The only annoyance was StarScream's repeated questioning of his persistence in staying on a backwater system planet but facts were facts. Had the matter generated by the AllSpark dissipated he would've known the Cube was not present, it had not therefore the Cube was here.

-Earth Calendar Year 1961-

One of Soundwave's listening outposts picked up a derelict craft heading toward his location. Its signature indicated Cybertronian construction which provoked enough interest for him to emerge from his hidden bunker and jet silently into space. Once he located the drifting hulk he trailed it down as it crashed onto the Moon's surface. His excitement grew when he identified the vessel and more importantly its cargo.

As soon as the _Ark_ skidded to a stop he approached the vessel and searched it for a way to enter. Once he did, it did not take him long to locate the main deck of the _Ark_ and more importantly the vault beneath_._ Inside the vault were hundreds of cylindrical containers and the body of Sentinel Prime. He retrieved one of the cylinders and examined it carefully and then returned the device back into its slot with awe. It was a space pillar a component part of a space bridge and it wasn't from an ancient disassembled bridge. It was a recent creation and the fact that Sentinel's frame was housed within the vault suggested he might be its creator, which was likely as Sentinel Prime was a genius. A disappointing search through the compartment revealed the lack of schematics and how to implement the device.

Soundwave had to learn how to manipulate them. He exited the vault and to examine the bridge's systems. Once he located the communication and information array, he noted the damage which was minimal and repaired it. There was still energon within the _Ark's_ systems so he was able to activate the repaired equipment. He searched the database carefully for any information on the space bridge and frowned behind his mask in disappointment, his original theory confirmed. Sentinel had to be carrying the information. He drummed his digits on the console as he calculated different scenarios to employ. His fingers stopped their rhythmic pattern as soon as he decided what he would do. He would use the last amount of energon from the crashed vessel to send a simple encoded message to Decepticon Forces. He would assume command for this operation and bypass StarScream, even though it would earn him a few audio piercing shrieks, but the situation called for a more delicate servo.

He activated the array and encoded the message to send on a Decepticon frequency, "Command Authorization: Soundwave, Intelligence and Science Mission parameters. Orders: Transfer units, covert and combat, groups of four. Avoid Autobot detection. Contact upon arrival." He piggy-backed the coordinates with the text and sent the message. The comm burst as expected drained the remaining energon from the _Ark's _reserves. He looked down again at the vault and frowned knowing what lay beneath. He clenched his fist fighting off the desire to return to the vault and plunge his servo into the Prime's chassis and crush what was left of his faintly flickering spark, but he needed the mech alive.

Unfortunately Soundwave didn't possess anything that would revive Sentinel nor did he have a way to contain the Prime once he did. The safest way to manage the situation, he felt, was to leave Sentinel here for now and revive him later for interrogation. Once Soundwave could revive, contain and extract the information from the Prime then he would be free to fulfill his desire and end Sentinel's spark.

Soundwave stepped off the bridge and exited the _Ark, _once his pedes sunk into the Moon's silty soil he regarded the planet Earth and realized there was a secondary problem to consider. Through his manipulations he had advanced humanity's abilities in scanning and computing as well as their space programs. It would be logical to assume they had identified the impact and given their natural curiosity, would probably seek to discover what had occurred.

Since both the United States and Russia were running competing space programs and were already in the process of preparing moon landing missions, it wouldn't be long before the humans would land and locate the _Ark_. He considered whether it would make sense to allow the humans to move the pillars for him but once the pillars were on Earth, would he be able to recover them without note?

He crossed his arms over his torso and considered options. He decided there were too many variables and difficulties in retrieval once they were in human hands. It would be more efficient if his incoming forces transported the pillars to Earth as they arrived. As to Sentinel, the bodies of the crew, and the _Ark_ itself he would let them remain and see what the humans did with such obvious evidence they were not the only 'sentient' species in the universe. With a gentle push off of the surface he rose and transformed back into his flight mode and returned to his base.

—◊◊—◊◊—◊◊—

In response to his orders, and despite StarScream's initial fury at what he deemed an usurpation of his authority, small units of Decepticons were covertly deployed to the unsuspecting world. Combat mechs and weaponry were quietly staged on the moon, as covert units moved pillars to Earth for storage.

For the next forty years Soundwave had full and uninhibited control over the planet. Although he would never let StarScream know, his failure in locating the AllSpark and Megatron haunted him to distraction. If it had not been for the thrill of coercing, manipulating, and playing with humanity he wasn't sure he would've remained sane stuck on such a muck filled organic world.

- Earth Calendar Year 2002 - Suburbs, Chicago, Illinois -

A cemetery brightly lit with spring sunshine and flowers contrasted with a sorrowfully dressed group of people standing near a rose covered casket. The minister's words floated over the crowd, "… Marion's battle with cancer was a testament to her strength, courage, and love. She will be sorely missed by her husband Stan, happily married for 25 years and their only child, Ellie. …"

The father and daughter stood, slightly separated from the rest of the mourners as the short service was performed. Once it was complete those attending offered their condolences before quietly leaving. Soon only the two of them stood alone beside the casket when the father with a sigh his wiped his tears and placed an arm around his 18 year old daughter and led her away to their car.

—Earth Calendar Year 2005, Autobot Frigate _Varion_ —

Prowl, the Autobot's SIC, sat at his bridge command station pouring over reports. Next to him was a small stack of data pads in addition to files queuing on the console screen before him. The black and white mech had been fitted long ago with a specialized battle computer which he utilized in juggling the complexities of maintaining a military on the run. In one data stream he was assessing troop deployment and reassignments. On another, as SIC, he handled the disciplinary responsibilities and thankfully today that list was quite small. Another queue had an unending list from various unit commanders requesting personnel, equipment, weapons, and energon. If that weren't enough he also had various intelligence reports from their covert operations teams identifying current Decepticon troop movements and unit placement. He rubbed the red chevron on his helm as he worked in assisting Optimus Prime in managing the orn-to-orn operations of the Autobots.

The bridge access port shushed open as two mechs walked into the room. One was a red mech who was gesturing with emphasis as he spoke, "ah'm tellin' ya Prime, it's been too darned quiet." Ironhide continued to grumble as the pair walked into the bridge of their small craft.

"You're just tired of the inactivity and it's preying on your processor," Optimus teased, his colors similar to Ironhide except for the blue covering his legs. The Prime paused at each station, muttering small comments to each mech stationed there, before moving on to the next as he checked on status. The last station he reached was Prowl's as he stopped and turned to listen to Ironhide grouse.

"Naw, it ain't that Optimus. What's been buggin' me are these reports on Decepticon troop movement. Don't make sense, they're too small, that ain't StarScream's style at all."

Prowl slowly spun around in his chair to regard the pair, "I agree. These unit deployments are more subtle, covert, something like what Shockwave or Soundwave would do."

"Ah agree," Jazz, the Autobot's FIC said as he turned from his operations station, "ah'd place my bets on Soundwave."

"Agreed," Prowl nodded perfunctorily, "what doesn't make sense is 'why.' The quadrant they're relocating to is inactive, energon readings are low, it's not near anything remotely strategic, and even though there's an inhabited world in the system, the technology isn't high enough to warrant Decepticon interest. So something else is going on."

Optimus nodded his helm as he stared out of the view port and murmured, "Megatron." Then he turned to his staff, "is there any intel to suggest what they're up to?"

"No," Jazz said shaking his helm, "nothing in the chatter and definitely nothing about Megatron."

There was a small chime from Prowl's station which made the mech spin about. His fingers flew over the keyboard, "why didn't I see this before? It's not Megatron but the AllSpark, I think they found the AllSpark."

Optimus moved over to lean across the back of Prowl's seat to review the data, "that's the right signature but it's in such trace amounts. Are you sure?"

"I believe so," Prowl said as he pointed out the energy wave pattern, "the signature is unique and not replicable as far as we know."

"As far as we know… so, it could be a trap," Ironhide said as he strode forward and leaned his hip against the console, "but the only way ta find out is ta go see what they're up to."

"If this is legitimate, they'll be prepared. We have ta get in there without the Decepticons knowing we're onto em or this is gonna blow up in our faces big time," Jazz said as he rocked back in his seat. He huffed and looked up at the ceiling of the bridge and muttered, "hmmm. Ah think we outta play this quiet-like. I'd treat it like we're goin' directly up against Soundwave. So, a covert ops, real small, like in a single scout. Do recon and we go from there."

Optimus nodded, "that would be dangerous sending in a single bot without backup, but if we send in more troops that seriously increases their risk of discovery. If the AllSpark _is_ there and we accidentally alert them, that's it. All it'll take is one comm and we'll be facing the entire Decepticon Armada. And that's not a force we're ready to go up against. Alright, we send a scout to do recon and find out what the Decepticons are up to. This has to be a volunteer mission, Prowl."

"Consider… me… volunteered," Bumblebee said in broken soundclips as he spun around in his seat.

Prowl pulled up his list and blinked at it for a moment and then turned to Optimus as he voiced his concern softly, "Bumblebee…"

Optimus placed his servo gently on Prowl's door-wing and said softly, "I appreciate your concern, Prowl." Then he looked at Bumblebee and regarded him thoughtfully for a moment, "of the scouts aboard Bee, you have had direct experience in dealing with Soundwave. Although you are our best choice you'll be going in alone, are you sure Bumblebee?" Bumblebee leaped off his seat and did a fist pump, nodding emphatically.

"Alright," Optimus said with a very slight hint of concern in his tone, "Prowl, organize a staff meeting in a groon to hash out mission details."

"Yes sir," Prowl spun about in his seat and began to prepare and run various mission scenarios on one screen while on another he summoned the rest of command to the meeting.

—◊◊—◊◊—◊◊—

The groon flew quickly and soon Optimus' tiny staff room was filled, with Ratchet being the last bot who entered and had to cram himself in. Ratchet's expression was dark with annoyance as he had to squeeze in between Ironhide and Jazz. They did not improve the medic's disposition as Jazz and Ironhide commenced a stealthy poking war at the latecomer.

Noting his staff's antics would normally not fluster the usually placid Optimus but given the situation he grew increasingly irritated and had to look away to compose himself. He knew it was the stress of having to send another Autobot, especially Bumblebee, on a dangerous mission. More so if he found the AllSpark, which would mean Megatron had to be close by. One misstep and they'd have the entire Decepticon forces on their backs. It had nothing to do with Bumblebee's capabilities because he was the perfect bot to send. It was the fact that it was _Bumblebee. _Optimus was tired of constantly playing the numbers game where the Decepticons always had the greater odds and he didn't want Bumblebee to be the one who ended up losing.

It was a moment like this where he truly missed Elita 1, her mere presence was like a comforting balm to the war-weary Prime. Hearing Ratchet grumbling at Jazz and Ironhide had him pinching his nasal and then he stood up from his chair and quietly reprimanded the duo, "Jazz, Ironhide, enough."

"About time you said something," grumbled Ratchet.

Optimus merely tilted his helm in acknowledgment, "I know we've been cooped up in this vessel for far too long and all of us need some rest, but we need to be serious. Prowl, please begin."

The black and white mech pushed off the wall allowing his door-wings to adjust as he reviewed his datapad, "as reported previously, we've been noting small troop reassignments to a system with no remarkable value. I haven't been able to determine why until today. In doing various scanning sweeps of the system we picked up a trace AllSpark signature on one of the planets. So, either the AllSpark is there which means they've found it or worse, they've learned how to replicate the signature and it's a trap. Either way we need to know what they're doing. Also, a minor word of note, latest scans have also picked up electronic signals associated with younger civilizations. We are also dealing with an inhabited world," Prowl nodded and moved back to the wall.

Across from him Jazz stepped away from Ratchet who vented in relief. Ironhide and Jazz had changed tactics from poking to squeezing the poor medic between them.

Jazz crossed his arms, his expression now extremely serious, "there's been no intel or chatter to give us a guess. So, ah think based on the nature o' da deployment it's not StarScream which would point to a military campaign. So if it isn't military then it'd fall under either Soundwave or Shockwave. But if the inhabitants don't possess something they'd need then what'd be the point? Don't make any sense. Oh, and we still haven't heard anything about Megsy, he's still MIA." Jazz stepped back and wiggled into Ratchet who gently shoved him off with his arm.

Optimus crossed his arms and looked at Jazz who merely winked back his more jovial side taking over, "we need to know what's going on. If it's Soundwave or Shockwave that will make it more difficult to get planet-side because they'll have optics and audios on alert, they aren't as arrogant as StarScream is. So, we need to send a scout without attracting attention. Added to that is the risk of our presence being detected by the inhabitants which might alert the Decepticons. So we need to be doubly cautious. Bumblebee has volunteered to scout. So we're here to plan the details, ideas?"

Prowl commented without looking up from his data pad, "a ship, even a life pod will transmit some sort of signal, they'd be scanning for that. We need something to transport Bee in that'll be ignored by their sensors. Invisibility or shielding technology would be good options but they would require too much power."

Jazz grew serious as he crossed his arms over his chassis thoughtfully, "if it's skimming past sensors, then we'd need to replicate something they'd expect and disregard. Like debris, meteors, something natural that's common with a planetary system."

"So we pack Bee up like garbage and toss 'im out?" Ironhide grinned down at the smaller mech whose optics narrowed into a glare.

"Not a bad idea actually," Jazz said as he tapped his chin.

"Hey," Bee barked via recordings, "ah'm… not… garbage."

"No, ah'm not sayin' ya are. We just need to make ya _look_ like something they'd expect and ignore," Jazz advised. He was about to return to tormenting Ratchet when he remembered something, "hey, do ya'll remember something about an emergency transformation protocol for bots needin' to evacuate a breached ship? Do ya remember that, I think the transformation was like a pod or somethin?"

Prowl looked up and tilted his helm and then accessed his pad, "yes. It was successful but proved impractical. First, the code took up too much processor space so a bot would have to ditch the vehicular alt-mode code in favor of the survival pod. They were never able to condense the programming without making the alt-mode unsafe for reentry. The idea was shelved because most bots preferred to retain their alt." He paused as he read the data, "the second problem for discarding this protocol was the pod signature itself. It was so small it made it difficult if not impossible to spot for retrieval if the bot was incapacitated during the evacuation. Good call Jazz."

Optimus nodded, "excellent. Do we still have access to that programming?"

Prowl nodded, "yes it's still available as an emergency option. So it sounds like this will be the best method for insertion. The next problem is launching him without drawing attention."

"Well that's easy," Ironhide said with a grin, "fire him outta our missile launcher. They monitor us as much as we do them, so they expect us to do drills. We use a standard missile testing pattern and make sure one of the ship's positions is in line with the planet. We run a drill, fire at different points and make one of 'em Bee."

"Great…," Bee muttered as he crossed his arms over his torso, "just great."

Ironhide huffed at the smaller bot, "gotta better idea short stuff?"

Silence filled the small room as each considered options. Optimus himself could think of no better plan and looked to each mech. Each bot he regarded shook his head negatively, including Bumblebee.

"Prowl," Optimus ordered, "obtain the transformation code for the pod and give it to Bee. Give the coordinates for the planet to Ironhide so he can program the missile firing program. Ironhide, prepare a standard missile drill and add the coordinates into the firing pattern. Ratchet, as soon as Bee scans the pod-alt I want you to run a thorough diagnostic. He has to survive space, random debris, and reentry. If it's not safe we'll need to find another way to get Bee planet-side."

"Alright, we've got a basic idea for getting Bee there. However, once you're down Bee, no comms," Optimus continued, "we'll need some way for you to contact us without being picked up. Ideas?"

Jazz nodded again, "on Cybertron, sometimes my people'd use signals, ya know the old fashioned way? Sometimes different colored light, colored smoke, or a special yield chemical explosive to communicate without comms. If Bee uses a focused beam of light at a precise set of coordinates at a specific time, we could easily monitor it without comm chatter. The Decepticons are expecting that and won't be noticing a brief light signal, I hope."

Optimus blinked his optics for a few moments, "you're right, that really is old tech. But unless you're looking at the exact spot, it's easy to miss. Good call Jazz. Alright, when Bee locates any intelligence of note regarding the AllSpark or Decepticon activity, use a single tight beam, say the Autobot shield. We'll need to provide him a specific set of coordinates and time. If Bee finds nothing, same thing only use a simple light beam, no shield. "

"Good. Next, if the AllSpark is found," Optimus paused, "Prowl will take command of all Autobot Forces and assume the rank of First."

"Hey, what's up with that Prime?" Grumbled Jazz, "yer demotin' me?! What for? I haven't done anything wrong!"

"I'm not demoting you Jazz. With what I have in mind, I need to split my command team so I can't have Prowl running our faction without that authority. As for you, my friend, you'll be deploying with me, Ironhide, and Ratchet to join up with Bumblebee. We need to keep this operation small and hopefully undetectable, so we'll deploy to Earth in the same manner as Bee. Quiet and as below their scanners as possible. I need you with me because you're my best covert operations specialist. Ironhide my weapons specialist, Ratchet in case we'll need medical intervention as well as his combat capabilities."

"Sir," Prowl interrupted, "going in with such a small unit is not wise. Not including me as your tactical and strategic second again, not recommended. Please reconsider and send another in your place. As our Prime, it's to you our forces look to for guidance and support."

"Your concerns are valid, especially when we're dealing with probabilities and no facts. However, what we can surmise is we're facing one or both of the Decepticon's brightest and most devious minds. Second, I know Megatron. I know how much the AllSpark meant to him. He would not let the AllSpark go. I have to go if there's any chance Megatron is present."

"As a team, all of you are highly trained and the best skilled unit of mechs the Autobots possess and I am loath to split us up. But our forces need my best strategist with them should I fall. You are the best at what you do Prowl and our people's needs have the greater priority." Prowl looked away clearly not pleased with the response but unwilling to argue further.

Optimus nodded and then regarded Bumblebee, "Bee, if you aren't able to locate the AllSpark or Megatron, find out what's going on and why that planet is of such importance to the Decepticons. As soon as we receive your signal we'll extract you. For the extraction Prowl, I want you to have several frigates ready and prepared. Any questions?"

"Yes sir," Prowl lowered his datapad, "I do. What do you want me to do if the Allspark or Megatron is there?"

"If that's the case, I will break comm silence so we can plan further. Prowl, I will rely on you to assemble our forces to meet in that system in case we need to engage the Decepticons or to extract us. "

"Yes sir," he lowered his helm slightly.

"I'm not sure if this is a game changer, trap, or another dead end. No matter what the outcome I want each of you prepared for any contingency. Prowl, make sure you keep track of Decepticon forces, especially StarScream. If this is simply another exercise in Decepticon in-fighting, which is always a distinct possibility, let's make sure our forces aren't caught in the middle."

"Thank you, all of you. We would not be alive today if not for your hard work, dedication, and support. Most especially, I could not have made it all these vorns without you. Dismissed." Optimus stood as the assembled officers filed out of the room with Prowl in the lead dragging Bumblebee off to command with Ironhide and Ratchet in tow.

Jazz stayed behind and put out an arm to hold Optimus back from exiting allowing the door to slide shut, "OP, are ya sure Bee's up ta this?"

"Yes," Optimus answered with conviction as the two stared at one another for a few moments before Jazz nodded.

"All right then. I'll put up extra teams prior to deployment and see if the Decepticons react. If they do, we fly in and pick him up? Right?"

"Of course," Optimus answered, slightly offended.

"Just bein' clear is all," Jazz said as he held up his servo, "you know ah'd nevah abandon a mech in the field… Ah'm just thinkin' we should probably prep the ship for battle… just in case." Optimus nodded and proceeded to the bridge with Jazz trailing along behind.

Once they reached the bridge, Prowl was already removing the access lead from Bee's wrist indicating the code had been uploaded. With a small yelp, Bee was grabbed by Ratchet who drug the smaller mech with him off to the med bay. Jazz walked over to his station to put together small teams to depart as additional listening posts. Ironhide went over to his tactical station to start going over his exercises to select one that would work best for the mission. A quiet comm indicator beeped at Optimus' station letting the Prime know that after a thorough examination Ratchet pronounced the new mode safe for transit and reentry.

Once Ironhide had the drill selected, Prowl broadcasted a ship-wide message informing the crew to prepare for training drills. With a nod Prime's command staff quickly called their replacements as they walked down to the munitions bay.

Ironhide quickly loaded the firing sequence pattern into the weapon system computers. Once that was complete he, himself went and physically loaded practice rounds into each of the firing tubes except for one.

Ironhide turned, "all right, ahm ready to go. Just need to load Bee in missile tube 3."

Optimus pulled Bumblebee aside and placed a large servo on his pauldron, "I need not remind you to be careful, you've dealt with Soundwave before. Just keep in mind you also have to deal with the planet and its inhabitants. Whatever you do, take no unnecessary risks, understood? Stay low and contact us as soon as you have information."

Bumblebee nodded and played a series of recordings taken from various shipmates, "yes sir. Don't worry… ah got it well undah control."

Optimus kept his worry to himself as he stepped back to watch.

With a cocky salute Bumblebee transformed into his emergency pod alt. He wasn't too worried about his original alt-mode as Prowl had duplicated the data for him for later. As for the planet, Bee would scan for an alternate mode, if one could be found, and blend in. Once the transformation sequence was complete Ironhide rolled Bumblebee into a missile launching tube chuckling, "ya know, he makes a perfect lobbing ball, let's keep 'im like this and send anothah bot instead."

Despite his compacted and protected state, Bumblebee was quite capable of hearing and responded tartly using his teammate's own words and finished with Ratchet, "put one servo on… mah aft… and you'll find out the meaning of pain."

The command staff's responses were varied, some laughed outright, others smiled. Prime simply crossed his arms as he fought the desire to pull Bee back.

Ironhide walked over to the controls and activated ship-wide comms., "alright people, this is a drill. Missile and battery firing commencing… now! Battle stations! I repeat, battle stations!" His servo hovered over the launch button. "Primus be with ya, Bee," and then pressed the button.

- Earth Calendar Year 2007-

A young teen by the name of Sam Witwicky rummaged through a box of battered antiques passed down to him from his father. They were a collection of items from an ancestor named Captain Archibald Witwicky. He pulled out an old newspaper that claimed the captain had been institutionalized for insanity and dropped it on his desk with a huff.

"I wonder if insanity is hereditary…. Hey you know Mojo," the teen said to the Chihuahua snoozing on his bed, "I haven't gone through this stuff in ages. Good thing I had that history report."

He continued to pull out various items as he continued muttering aloud, "I bet I could get some money for these things. Dad won't mind, right Mo?" The little dog simply blinked a tired eye at his master and lowered his head back onto his paws.

"Yeah," Sam said as he held up a pair of glasses and looked at them in the light streaming from the window. "I could get some good money for some of this stuff, well, except maybe these. Pretty beat up but they're old and lots of people like buying old crap, right?"

Sam suddenly stood up, dropped the glasses back into the box and dashed out of his room mildly startling his dog. Mojo had recently broken his leg but was being dosed with pain medication that had him happily watching the room spin. Soon the pounding of returning footsteps heralded Sam's arrival as he dropped into his chair holding a small digital camera and began taking pictures.

Thirty minutes later and several mishaps along the way, the items from Sam's box were posted on EBay for sale as he waited eagerly for bids, not realizing that in doing so, what events he'd inadvertently set into motion.

- Earth Year 2007 - Post Mission City and the Destruction of the AllSpark and Megatron -

In Earth orbit a silvery form maneuvered gracefully from satellite to satellite, pausing before moving on to the next. As another device rotated near, it used careful bursts of fuel to ease close, paused, and then with another gentle burst it attached itself to the device. A multitude of metallic tendrils emerged and attached itself to a United States Military satellite. A flare of light that reflected off the military device streaked across the silvery form illuminating a purple insignia, the faction symbol of the Decepticons.

Soundwave chuckled softly as the primitive technology was easily tapped and hacked into, he did after all provide humanity with the necessary basics. In less than a thought, the spy had total access to the entire United States Military communications network, while the humans below were totally unaware of the subversion. Settling back with patience, Soundwave initiated protocols scanning for anything that might help him locate the resting place of his fallen leader Megatron. Recently off-lined by a small human who'd thrust the AllSpark's energy into a gap in Megatron's chassis from his recent battle with Optimus and the human military. The AllSpark energy was too powerful for Megatron's frame and spark to handle, the overload overwhelmed and extinguished his spark.

The chatter coursing through the satellite was extensive but easy for the spy to process. Time meant nothing to Soundwave as he listened and stored random bits of information. His diligence, on this day, was rewarded. Soundwave opened his comms and sent a broadcast message to his fellow Decepticons on Earth, "Megatron has been found…"

With one slip of the tongue not only was the location of Megatron given away, but that of something he had not expected. A shard of the AllSpark existed. As the deploying Decepticons advanced on the Laurentian Abyss to recover their fallen leader, Soundwave eject one of his tactical subordinates Ravage on a specialized mission to retrieve the shard. Once Ravage was ejected, Soundwave send another message but this one into deep space, "Megatron has been recovered. Acquire medical assistance. Transport to this location, urgent."

—Decepticon Command, Cybertron—

A large mono-opticed mech stood, a silent guardian in a large command center, monitoring data displayed on various screens. Everything from supplies and troop deployment, Cybertron's core energy systems, interstellar anomalies potentially indicating energon sources, as well as the various scientific projects he was working on. Shockwave was assigned by Megatron to be commander over Cybertron and he did so with efficiency. His reputation alone kept the demoralized troops, suffering from lack of energon and needed medical care, in line. It was not unusual for him to occupy command alone, he preferred it that way and he knew those under him felt safer for that choice.

Added to his imposing stature was the mech's lack of facial features except for a mono-optic, which made him even more frightening to those who served under him. Most Cybertronians possessed facial features that would allow or hint at expressions of emotion. There was no clue, no hint, to give away Shockwave's emotions. Combined with that was his carefully controlled movement and cultured voice, nothing was given away to discern mood or temper.

Shockwave stood calmly before a monitor reviewing the data from a current project when a ping of an incoming message caused him to huff softly in annoyance. Although the message was from Soundwave he was still irked at the interruption. He quickly activated the message and with a frown sent a response in soft cultured tones, "Megatron was injured on that organic infested world and you need a medic?"

"We have a basic field medic, we require a surgeon."

"I see," Shockwave activated another screen and scanned the list of Decepticon medics and snorted in disgust. Then he quickly brought up a list of known Autobot medics, "I will retrieve one from the Autobots. Out."

With one arm as a fixed weapon he used the other to skillfully manipulate a screen bringing up an extensive interstellar chart showing vessel and planetary placement, as well as listings of current Autobot prisoners. He quickly closed the prisoner list and went back to the interstellar maps.

Retrieving the latest intelligence on various Autobot vessels, he checked their possible troop manifests. Then he pushed the smaller vessels off the list as he focused on the larger ones. Statistically speaking, he mused, the larger vessels would more likely hold a surgeon. Once he'd pinpointed several potential targets he stepped back from his screen and crossed his arms deep in thought. With deft fingers he loaded another layer displaying current Neutral Ships as well as Decepticon troop placement, and another layer of planetary systems and settlement locations. He regarded the information and within moments devised a scheme to retrieve a surgeon and transport him to Earth.

Activating his communication array again, Shockwave transmitted a message to a Decepticon contingent close by his target, "Decepticon Unit TR172A notification of change in orders. You are to attack Neutral Outpost New Iacon, Deca and acquire a surgeon. Alive. Transport will be sent. Coordinates to follow. Respond."

"This is TR172A. Accept change in orders. Respectfully, we request additional troops."

Shockwave's servo paused for a moment, "your unit is sufficiently manned for this mission. Additional troops request, denied. Command out."

Shockwave called up another screen, "Seeker Unit RS175 respond."

"RS175."

"RS175 divert to TR172A. Change in orders, your unit is to aid in the capture and transport of a surgeon. Transport location Coordinates to follow."

Longflight sighed as he corrected his position drawing close to a small planetary body he'd intended to scan for energon readings. He was a warping shuttle and commander of a trine of energon seekers.

With energon reserves low, the Decepticons had been forced to search further out into space for the rare substance. Because of their distance in relation to the main Decepticon force, the only contact he received was merely to complain about the lack of energon recovered but that was just the way StarScream treated his seekers. Complaint but with no retaliation, which was fine with him. Why now, all of a sudden, was his unit being contacted by Shockwave? Since when did he interfere with StarScream's command?

Although Shockwave held superior ranking, he was still outside of Longflight's chain-of-command. What gave him the authority to bypass orders to reassign them? Was he crazy?

Longflight opened his comms, "RS175 to Command. There must be an error in your records, please note that RS175 is an energon seeker unit not a combat unit. As such and by order of Megatron, energon seekers are forbidden to deviate from their mission which is finding energon not surgeons. I'm sure I don't have to remind you that disobedience is a capital offense, as in termination. So, Commander Shockwave, as much as I appreciate the situation you're in, I won't break orders to recover a surgeon for you. RS175 Out."

Shockwave listened to the comm and then responded in a cultured and calm tone, "RS175. I am well aware of your duties. I am authorized to amend orders in extreme circumstances. The surgeon is for Megatron and since the closest surgeon is near you, you will carry out these orders or be terminated, it is your choice. Command Out."

"Wait," Longflight lurched in flight at the command and reopened comms, "there's nothing in the regulations that give you that authority. Megatron's orders are NEVER countermanded nor disobeyed, ever. You know that. So when this surgeon cures Megatron he'll order us off-lined anyway. I want this on the record, Energon Seeker RS175 refuses Commander Shockwave's request to break orders and acquire a surgeon. Shockwave, find a combat unit. RS175 out!"

It did not surprise Shockwave at the refusal, the seeker was correct. However, recovering Megatron was worth the loss of 3 energon seekers, "RS175, this conversation is being recorded. I am temporarily in command of the Decepticons. I will assume full responsibility for the change in your orders. I will accept termination in your unit's stead should Megatron order such upon his revival. That should satisfy command requirements. Commander Longflight you will alter your mission parameters or I will authorize Astrotrain to terminate your unit. Understood?"

'_Great. Fragged no matter which way we fly_,' Longflight muttered and then responded, "for the record, Commander Shockwave has ordered Seeker Unit RS175 to deviate from mission to acquire a surgeon, against Megatron's orders. Commander Shockwave has accepted responsibility and punishment for said disobedience. Include recorded conversation."

"Satisfied?"

"Not really."

"Shall I summon Astrotrain then?"

"No," conceded a resigned Longflight .

"Good. Round up your unit and report to TR172A's location. The unit commander is Tumbler. Carry out orders, retrieve and warp the surgeon to the coordinates sent. Command, Out."

-Deep Space—

Longflight growled in frustration and opened comms, "Duststorm, Steadyburn, meet me at these coordinates, sending now. Shockwave's changed our orders and yeah I know we're screwed. We are to place ourselves under the command of TR172A Tumbler."

"Are you crazy?" gasped Duststorm as her sleek black Cybertronian form glided through her current search territory. "No one changes Megatron's orders, no one! Shockwave's a canny mech, he'll manage to fly his aft out of danger and we'll be terminated for this!"

"Second that," replied Steadyburn, a larger mech of similar Cybertronian design to Duststorm but his paint was blood red and barely visible in his current search territory, "we've no reason to do anything Shockwave wants. Did StarScream approve?"

"I don't think he's aware and at this point why bother contacting him. We do this or deal with Astrotrain, so were fragged the lot of us. It seems Megatron's badly injured and needs a surgeon. So that's our mission. I don't know what to tell you both, no matter what we do, we're fragged. We'll just have to hope we can figure out a way to survive this one way or the other, I'll meet you there, Longflight out."

Longflight banked, his large white and purple shuttle ample enough to hold a large supply of energon or troops, to their new coordinates. He knew Shockwave selected his unit purely due to their proximity.

"I knew it was going to come to this," moaned Steadyburn on the comms, "why else would they send us to this aft-hole section of the universe?"

Longflight sighed, "just meet up at TR172A's location, if we're lucky we'll find some energon and hopefully use that to save our afts."

"Wishful thinking," muttered Steadyburn as he altered to the coordinates. Duststorm didn't comment, she simply adjusted her nav. system and hoped this wasn't a mistake.

- Neutral Outpost New Iacon, Deca-

TR172A was located on a small moon called Deca positioned to monitor the activities of a neutral Cybertroninan outpost called New Iacon. Thus far, the Decepticons assigned to TR172A were allowed to enter and monitor the neutrals without incident and maintained a wary relationship, as long as they didn't cause trouble.

New Iacon's headman Quickdrill maintained civil authority and insured that when any of the Decepticons ventured into their village they were accorded wary respect. The outpost was small and boasted a civic headquarters, several shops, and a small space port. The outpost was established after the discovery of a major deposit of silica, necessary for many of the components Cybertronians carried within their own bodies and as well as what they used in their technology.

New Iacon would've succeeded in becoming a wealthy and major port if the discovery hadn't come on the heels of war. Because of the war, factions determined the deposit was not large enough to expend the energon for transport. So New Iacon drifted into history, its distance allowing the inhabitants lasting peace. Over time most simply thought of the Autobot-Decepticon war as a 'Cybertronian' thing.

When the seekers arrived at the small outpost Tumbler the commander, a bulky ancient and scarred mech, ordered his command to assemble. The commander waited as a motley bunch of mechs, poorly repaired, formed ranks as he lumbered forward to a stop before them. Taking a moment to survey his bots, Tumbler addressed the unit, "we've received a change in orders. Per command, we're to acquire a surgeon. Alive. New Iacon hasn't got one, just a general practitioner. So we need to attack the outpost, provoke 'em into calling for Autobot aid and lure us a surgeon."

"I know most of you have been itching to get outta here but that ain't gonna happen unless we get the surgeon. Just remember DO NOT off-line the surgeon. I can't stress this enough, the surgeon must be alive and uninjured. If one of you idiots offs him, I won't even begin to list what sort of retribution you're in for. So, if Megatron wants an Autobot medic we're gonna give him one. For the glory and honor of Megatron and the Decepticon cause, stand and rise up!"

The mechs cheered and hooted as they queued up to the amory to pick up weapons and readied themselves to move out. Tumbler moved along the ranks yelling at one mech, kicking another as he tried to herd his unruly command into some form of order as the shuttle seeker Longflight, approached.

"Can I have a minute?" Longflight asked as Tumbler kicked another mech aside and then waived the seeker over with barely hidden annoyance and waited.

"Yeah, what do ya want?"

Longflight no small mech himself stood his ground, "we're energon seekers not combat troops."

Tumbler froze and then glared at the white and purple shuttle in annoyance. With a blink of his optics Tumbler grabbed the shuttle's arm and pulled him away from the milling ranks, almost lifting Longflight off his pedes.

"Why," he hissed softly, "in the name of Megatron, would command send me a non-combat unit?"

"You'd have to ask Shockwave," responded Longflight, "I think it's because we were the closest unit and I can warp. The only weaponry and tactical systems we possess is mining lasers." Tumbler groaned and muttered about idiot Cybertronian command decisions and then began pacing.

"I needed the troops," Tumbler stopped pacing and turned, "but we've gotten used to making do. These bots aren't used to seekers. I'm betting we could intimidate them simply by having you do low level fly overs. You don't need a battle computer to fire lasers and since those neutrals haven't a clue how to fight they won't be able to tell the difference. Since it seems you're a critical piece, bein' the transport, best you stay behind."

"Can't afford to have you hit by accident," Tumbler sneered, "the others can buzz the city a few times, fire randomly or not, as long as they can get the city in a panic. Once my ground troops enter tell your team to pull back and move in behind us. If they want, they can pick off whomever they want as long as they don't off the surgeon when he arrives. Prepare your team, we're leaving in ten."

"Yes sir," Longflight saluted the larger mech and walked back to his two smaller seeker companions.

"Our orders…" Longflight looked up skyward and closed his optics and vented. Then he regarded the black femme and the blood red mech, "our orders are to do low level fly overs, fire your lasers, accuracy isn't a big deal. Tumbler's idea is to scare the neutrals into a panic. When his troops enter the city, fall back and follow. Don't get shot. I have to stay behind since I'm the transport. Understood?"

Duststorm nodded in assent as Longflight continued, "and these are _my_ orders. These troops haven't seen battle in a very long time and they don't look to be our finest. They'll probably be erratic and dangerous to anybot. As soon as they move into the town don't bother to follow. Just stay safe, am I clear?" He waited for them to nod, "good."

Duststorm and Steadyburn looked at each other in surprise. Duststorm, normally the quietest of their trine asked with concern, "''Flight, we're still going through with this? I didn't join the seekers to shoot up a town of neutrals."

Steadyburn chuckled, "and here I thought you joined us because you fell in love with me."

She rolled her optics and added teasingly as she looped her arm around Longflight, "not possible sweetspark, because I always fall for the bigger mech." Then she grew serious as she let Longflight go and placed a servo on Steadyburn's forearm, "seriously, though, I care about both of you let's just keep it at that, okay?"

"Picking on me for my size, again? I'll have you know I'm just as big as StarScream," Steadyburn whined with a servo to his wounded spark then continued with a smile, "still, just because I'm shorter than Longflight doesn't mean you can't bond with the both of us, right? I have other redeemable qualities."

"Seriously, you're bringing this up now? Need I remind you why _we_ decided against bonding as a trine? What if one of us was injured? Off-lined? You know what happens to the rest of the trine, we decided we couldn't do that to one another. Or have you two changed your minds recently?"

Steadyburn held his arms up in surrender, "no, we haven't changed our minds. I was just teasing you alright? Sheesh, quit being so serious will ya? It's just fun bringing it up in case you might change your processor, I mean a bot can hope can't he?" Steadyburn smiled at the smaller femme with a grin and tried to pull her into a hug. She kept him at arm's length for a moment and then capitulated, allowing the contact. After a few moments of holding Steadyburn close, she held out an arm to include Longflight. The older mech smiled and walked into their arms and simply stood there enjoying each other's company until Duststorm gently pushed them both away.

Tumbler's mechs regarded the open affection of the trine with sneers and disparaging remarks. Such behavior was not appropriate for the regular forces. Ground bots simply didn't understand the hardships energon seekers endured. Granted they weren't out on the front lines struggling to stay alive. Their hardship stemmed from the length of time they were out in the field alone with little to no contact. Bonds of any type were necessary to help maintain sanity when they were separated from any living being for orns at a time. It was a connection, a reason to continue beyond that of serving the Decepticon cause which kept them flying.

Most seeker trines bonded because it allowed greater contact and created a more cohesive fighting unit. Energon seekers benefitted because there were times comms wouldn't work due to any number of issues, distance, distortions due to radiation interfering with comm signals. Duststorm had admitted many times to her trine that there was certainly a lure of having that special connection to them but for some reason she just couldn't take that next step.

There was a darker side some exploited with regard to bonded trines. Some unit commanders force bonded their troops as a means of control. So if any seeker got out of line, the commander would simply pull one of his trine aside and punish him until the others complied. DustStorm sighed in disappointment because such treatment was a horrible deviation from their noble Decepticon origins.

Tumbler's shouts caused the three to turn and watch as the Decepticon ground forces formed up. Longflight's deeper voice reminded the smaller seekers gently, "you better go. Remember, buzz the town, stay low, strafe at will. Once Tumbler's forces attack the city, fall back or those crazy mechs might shoot you instead." The three stared at each other optics silently communicating concern and then separated.

Duststorm and Steadyburn stood behind the Decepticon ground forces and waited for Tumbler's command. Once he was satisfied Tumbler shouted, "seekers, buzz the town! When I give the recall command fall back and stay behind the unit. Troops move out!"

The seekers ignited their pede thrusters and lept into the air to the sounds of hoarse cheers from the troops below. Then they both transformed into their flight mode and with a burst of speed, they raced to New Iacon.

- New Iacon, Deca —

It was barely sunrise as the headman Quickdrill strolled from his home, his daily routine so ingrained that he didn't even note two glints in the sky quickly approaching. Duststorm and Steadyburn increased speed and lowered their altitude skimming the tops of the buildings, the roar of their engines causing many in the city to dash out of doors to see what was happening. Using a lazy turn to determine their next pass, the black and red jets buzzed the town again, scattering the townsfolk who screamed in panic as the seekers fired their weapons. While banking into their next turn they saw the dust cloud of the advancing Decepticon troops which indicated the progress of Tumbler's forces. Once more the seekers buzzed the city firing lasers over the heads of the fleeing inhabitants who were dashing this way and that completely confused and unsure of where to go as Quickdrill shouted and gesticulated wildly trying to get the citizens to head to the city center.

When New Iacon had been built, the city center had been designed as a bunker in response to the rumors of war. Quickdrill's antics drew the attention of a few of the town's security mechs who soon assisted him in redirecting the terrified populace into the building when the bombardment began. The headman realizing they were in a desperate situation turned and ran to the space port to activate their deep-space communication's array. The array had originally been in the city center but was moved to the port to aid incoming vessels. They hadn't had the budget to purchase additional equipment. As he wove his way through citizens and buildings, he watched in horror as a shell exploded sending bots he knew into the air. His processor stilled in horror as bits of dirt, building, and bot rained around his speeding form.

He struggled to keep moving and not fall to the side of the road to purge his tank. Forcing his terrified limbs onward, he raced to the space port. Once he reached the port's doors, there had never been a reason to lock them, he flung them open and dashed up to the rarely manned communication's room. Falling into the chair he entered a standard merchant vessel frequency and slammed a fist onto the console to activate the comms, "this is outpost New Iacon on the moon Deca, we are under attack. Repeat, we are under attack by Decepticons. PLEASE HELP US!"

-Cityship _Metroplex_ –

Using distance as a protective measure the great cityship _Metroplex_ hovered on the fringes of known space and subsequently brushed against Decepticon territory. As a neutral Cybertronian vessel the _Metroplex_ contained refugees as well as the remaining survivors of the Council, the leaders of Cybertron's government.

The communication's officer Sinewave turned to face the captain, "sir, we've picked up a message from neutral outpost New Iacon on Deca. They're being attacked by Decepticons and are asking for assistance. What do you want to do?"

Captain Cordite drummed his digits on the arm of his chair and muttered softly, "I know what I'd like to do." Then he straightened his shoulder and in a louder voice ordered, "Sine, patch me through to the Council Secretary. Let me know when he responds."

Cordite pulled up his screen to call up data on Deca while he waited for the Council to get around to answering his query. Depending upon their schedule it might be immediate or longer, which would be disastrous for the outpost.

Sinewave's slender orange frame glistened under the bridge lighting as his servos adjusted his equipment. With a surprised blink of optics he noted the immediate response from the Council, "Captain, I have the Council Secretary."

"Good, transfer to my station," Captain Cordite waited for his monitor to ping and he quickly activated the connection, "sir, we've received a distress call from the settlement New Icon on Deca. They are our supplier of silica, they are being attacked by Decepticons and are asking for help. Request permission to deploy the Autobot unit we're temporarily sheltering to render aid. If we do, we can protect our source of silica without _Metroplex_ being directly involved. What would the Council like us to do?"

"We will get back to you," the secretary replied haughtily and then disconnected.

"I wonder how long _this_ will take," the Captain muttered as he rested his helm on his hand.

"Captain," the communications officer said quietly, "they're not our only source of silica."

"Oh," Cordite said with a wink, "good to know." Sinewave slowly nodded his head as he realized what the Captain was up to.

"You're welcome, sir," he responded and turned back to his station. Care had to be taken as the Council frequently monitored all activities on the ship, including the bridge. So it wouldn't do to have a prolonged conversation on the topic and draw undue attention to the Captain's ploy.

Cordite flicked the receive command when a chime indicated an incoming call from the Council, "yes sir?"

There was no feed, simply a terse command, "we will notify the Autobots."

Cordite quickly closed the line, "Sparkie notify New Iacon we've received the message and are sending help, just don't say who, in case the Decepticons are listening in."

"Yes sir," the officer said as he frowned at his superior, "I just wish you'd stop calling me Sparkie."

"Now where's the fun in that," Cordite said as he rose to his pedes, "if there are any further incidents, I'll be in my office."

"Yes sir," as he activated an outgoing frequency, "New Iacon, this is neutral vessel _Metroplex._ We have received your message and will be sending you help."

Back on New Iacon, Quickdrill hooted in excitement because he hadn't expected a response so soon, "thank you _Metroplex_! Is it possible to send a medic? One of the first buildings they hit was our Life Center."

"Understood New Iacon, we will see what we can do, _Metroplex_ out." Sinewave grinned predicting the captain's response as he pinged his office.

"What now?! I haven't even sat down yet!"

"New Iacon is requesting a medic and since the _only_ medic aboard is CMO FirstAid…"

There was a series of colorful words accompanied by what sounded like an item crashing to the floor which made Sinewave cover his mouth to prevent himself from laughing aloud when the senior officer finally responded with resignation, "fine. Patch me through to the Secretary Councilor."

-_Metroplex, Segregated Quarters, Autobot Unit—_

Ultra Magnus, commander of the Wreckers, sat in a small office looking over the latest reports Kup, his second, had recently given him for review when his office comm pinged.

"Magnus," he responded.

A haughty voice answered in audio mode only, "this is the Assistant to Councilor Medras. The outpost New Iacon on the moon Deca is being attacked by Decepticons, they are also requesting medical aid. Your unit is ordered to eliminate the Decepticon threat and provide protection for our CMO FirstAid. He is our only medical officer so you better make sure you return with him when the mission is complete. If not, don't bother coming back, you will not be welcome. Out."

"Oh, so now they need us," Magnus scoffed and then shouted as he walked out of his office, "KUP! Assemble the Wreckers, the Council wants us to take care of a Decepticon problem."

"Really? That's a new one. Good timing though everybody's getting lazy," responded Kup as he materialized near the taller blue and red mech and popped a quick salute. The elder mech with a cigar-like stick clenched between his teeth turned and quickly dashed to the barracks where their small Autobot unit relaxed on benches or sat at the rec table playing games.

Kup, despite the cigar, walked into the center of the room and in a booming voice ordered, "Wreckers! We got work to do. Form up and let's get ready to move out!"

When the _Metroplex _fled Cybertron it intentionally carried no army factions just neutrals and a small cadre of Autobot Elite Guards assigned to protect the Councilors. Over the many centuries they had managed to avoid the conflict by staying as far away from combat and faction territories as possible. It was an accident that caused the Autobot unit, especially one as notorious as the Wreckers, to be aboard. The Wrecker's shuttle and compatriot Skylynx had been badly damaged in a skirmish and the closest vessel was the _Metroplex. _

Initial requests for aid were denied as the Council feared aiding the Autobots might negate their neutrality and since it appeared to many that the Decepticons were winning they did not want to provoke retaliation.

However the _Metroplex's_ CMO's was also an Autobot as well as a Protectobot, FirstAid. Once he learned of the Council's refusal to allow Skylynx to land he promptly threatened to leave the ship unless the Council allowed the Autobots to land. The Council terrified of losing their only medic quickly relented allowing Skylynx and the Wreckers aboard. To present as neutral a face as possible the Council sectioned off a portion of the ship and restricted the Autobots there. They were not allowed anywhere else on the ship and as soon as Skylynx was functional they were to leave.

Ultra Magnus walked calmly up as the Wreckers formed into a line. Sergeant Kup was the oldest Autobot present, his pale green frame was small, wiry, and worse for wear given his age. Some mistakenly interpreted his older frame model to indicate a slower processor and weaker abilities to their detriment. Kup was feared both in skill and tactics and could easily best most of the mechs here, with perhaps the exception of Ultra Magnus whose size and skill was comparable.

Behind him in a row were two dark green mechs. One, a rare triple changer named Springer and the other a physically imposing combat veteran called Bulkhead. Beside them were two bright red mechs, one bulky and one slender with a giant scope on his back. Inferno the bulkier of the two served as both a warrior and as a rescue mech, he had a talent for incindiaries as well as putting them out. Perceptor was a slender, gently spoken and mild tempered mech. Not only was he the unit's sniper he was their science expert and unquestionably a genius amongst his peers. Last in line was their youngest, an unruly and undisciplined mech with bright red, yellow, and orange flames known as Hot Rod who enjoyed driving his mentor Kup to distraction with his antics.

"Wreckers," began Ultra Magnus as he calmly outlined their mission, "an outpost, New Iacon, has a Decepticon problem and we're gonna fix that. New Iacon's also asked for medical assistance, so the Council has graciously allowed their CMO to come with us. We're to protect the medic at all costs and make sure he comes back with us, if not the Council won't let us aboard. As to transport, Skylynx is still down so we've gotta use one of the ship's weaponless shuttles. Remember, FirstAid's not a Wrecker so I want you people to keep an extra optic out for him. That's it, we go in, clear out the Decepticons, protect the medic while he's doing his thing, and when he's done we all come back."

Running footsteps heralded the arrival of the CMO as the red and white Autobot dashed into the room with a large medical kit in his servo, "ready when you are."

Kup looked to Ultra Magnus who nodded approval for his second to go ahead, "you heard the bot, let's move out!"

The team turned and ran to the armory to retrieve their supplies and weapons. Once equipped the Wreckers and one CMO dashed to the _Metroplex_'s landing bay where their shuttle was being prepped for launch. Skylynx watched the activity with a huff of frustration and lowered his helm to the bay floor disappointed at being unable to go. The sound of the arriving Wreckers scattered the crew who reacted with both fear and distain as they still harbored the resentment of war as well as caste discrimination. The Wreckers quickly boarded the shuttle and they launched.

- New Iacon, Deca —

Duststorm and Steadyburn landed behind the last rank of Tumbler's forces as the first rank completed their shelling. The noise, screaming, and smoke slowly filtered through as the wind shifted. Duststorm awkwardly stepped around a Decepticon ground mech as he sneered at her mining laser, "just point that toy of yours away from us." Several warriors nearby heard the comment and started laughing, which provoked others to make suggestive comments as to what they'd like to use a femme for.

Steadyburn looked at his companion and noted her placid expression and whispered, "how can you take that slag?"

"Easy," she said and turned a little, "if I'm lucky to make it through this, I can fly away. If I say anything now, _they_ might not let me." Then Steadyburn noticed her wings and the barely perceptible twitches indicating nervousness.

"Don't worry, I'm here," he responded softly as he moved closer to her.

Tumbler, near the front of his troops shouted, "alright you lazy slag-heads, it's time to take the city." Then he turned and ran firing into the street. With hoots of glee his ground forces flooded the small town peppering buildings with weapon's fire while others tossed grenades. The two seekers slowly advanced in horror, optics wide and blinking, neither having witnessed the furor of enraged battle mechs before.

Following from the rear they were spared from viewing some of the senseless slaughter, just the results. The town itself was relatively small so it didn't take long for the Decepticon unit to reach the city center. The city center consisted of a large plaza which lay at the foot of the largest building the town boasted. It was an elevated structure with huge doors that were at that moment shut. As a small group of huddled townsfolk discovered apparently having arrived too late to enter or escape the oncoming troops.

In front of the doors two neutral mechs in light civilian armor tried to shield a larger group of femmes, younglings, and sparklings. Tumbler mounted the steps as his forces split, one formed at the base of the stairs awaiting orders, while the others continued on through the city.

Duststorm's origins were not something she shared with anybot, primarily because of embarrassment as she wasn't from Vos nor was her first frame that of a seeker. She'd never seen the Well or the Youth sectors and although she knew technically what younglings and sparklings were she'd never seen one up close. The terrified whistling and chirps of the young sent a shiver through her frame activating dormant protocols she wasn't aware existed. Despite Steadyburn's desperate calls to her to fall back, she walked forward up the steps mesmerized, deaf to everything but their piteous cries. Her spark ached as the femmes tried to draw their young closer to them, unable to do more, when Tumbler approached.

Instead of commanding his forces who were waiting below for further orders, Tumbler turned on the civilians and with a menacing laugh drew a sword from its back mounting and swung it up high preparing for a killing blow.

When Duststorm realized his intent she dashed up the remaining steps and tried to block his approach, "Tumbler, this isn't part of the mission. It's not necessary, you don't need to do this."

"This is war seeker. What did you expect? You wear the shield! This is what we do," Tumbler sneered at her as he turned and swung the sword down to execute one of the mechs. Once he pulled the blade from the body he swung it towards the seeker turning the weapon at the last moment striking her with the flat of the blade. Duststorm's frame was flung several feet into the air and tumbled down the steps into the waiting Decepticons who'd been watching. Once her body landed amongst them they turned on her and began to pummel her unconscious frame.

Steadyburn rushed forward and tried to rescue her but was stopped by the muzzle of a rifle in his chest.

—◊◊—◊◊—◊◊—

Was it luck that _Metroplex's_ CMO happened to be an Autobot which allowed the Wreckers temporary shelter aboard the _Metroplex_? Or that _Metroplex_ happened to be closest to Deca because they were low on silica? It didn't matter to the residents of New Iacon, what mattered was time. The _Metroplex's_ shuttle quickly burned through the atmosphere as Springer shouted, "coming in pretty quick Perceptor, I need long-range visual."

Perceptor leaned over Springer's shoulder as he activated his scope, "looks like the Decepticons have taken the town…, they've got civilian hostages…. looks like they're about to execute them."

"Frag," muttered Springer in awe, "you can see all that?!" Perceptor smirked proudly at the green mech, "that and more Springer."

"Springer, Bulkhead, prepare for drop," ordered Ultra Magnus as he moved to take Springer's pilot's seat. The two green mechs grabbed their weapons and waited by the hatch as Ultra Magnus lowered the shuttle's altitude.

- City Center—

As Tumbler turned to execute the remaining civilians a flaming dot caught his attention. He paused to adjust his optics. Once he identified the threat he raised his sword and pointed, "incoming ship! Shoot the damned thing down but don't destroy it! We need that medic alive!"

As the ranks of Decepticons moved out to deal with the incoming vessel, Steadyburn took advantage of the distraction to move towards Duststorm's prone form. When it looked like it was safe, he quickly knelt to check to her status. Unfortunately the movement caught Tumbler's attention. Tumbler may've been a large and bulky mech but he could move swifly and quietly. He advanced upon the distracted seeker and with a grin lowered his great sword and rapped it across the seeker's back.

"Ignore the traitor," he growled as he swung the sword from Steadyburn's back to rest under his chin. With a slight thrust for emphasis, he slowly lifted the mech to his pedes adjusting the sword so the point of the blade was under his chin, "seeker, your new mission is to knock that annoyance of a shuttle out of the sky."

"With what? My fists? You know my lasers can't take out a shuttle!" Steadyburn hoped Tumbler wouldn't catch the lie. Steadyburn had to extract Duststorm and he wouldn't be able to do that if he went after the shuttle.

The commander simply lifted the sword higher forcing Steadyburn to stretch, "I don't care what you do, just bring that shuttle down."

When Steadyburn hesitated Tumbler quickly swung the point of the blade to hover over Duststorm's back, "I'm running out of patience with you weak-strutted seekers. All it takes is one gentle push and your trine-mate is gone. If that's not enough encouragement, I could I start cutting her into little pieces starting with her wings."

Steadyburn held up his hands in surrender and stepped back, "alright, alright!" The blood red seeker quickly transformed and jetted into the direction of the incoming ship.

-_Metroplex_ Shuttle—

"Incoming seeker," intoned Ultra Magnus as he calmly piloted the ship closer. Kup moved next to the larger mech and squeezed in between the gap of Magnus and Perceptor. Perceptor was focused on scanning the city and noticed the space port, "Magnus, there's a small port on the other side of the city, its high enough I could setup for some sniping."

"Can't let your new tech go to waste can you Perceptor," chuckled Ultra Magnus as he adjusted the yoke, the ship was already shuddering under the strain as he angled thrusters to decrease speed for the drop.

"Wait… did you say an incoming seeker?!" Perceptor barked finally registering the original comment, "I didn't think there were any this far out!"

"Weapon's lock?" asked Magnus as he focused on keeping the shuttle on course.

"No," exclaimed the stunned mech as Perceptor looked down at Magnus in surprise. Ultra Magnus blinked his optics for a moment equally surprised but then focused back on the mission, "Kup, get back there and tell Springer and Bulkhead to get ready for the drop."

"Got it," responded Kup as he quickly turned and walked to the back of the shuttle and nodded when he noted the two mechs were ready. "Get ready. Oh and there's an incoming seeker so keep your wits about ya."

The sergeant turned and before he opened the door, "steady all, it's gonna get a little windy in here." A quick glance assured him that the crew was ready when he pulled open the door. The blast nearly knocked Bulkhead off his feet as he grabbed ahold of one of the shuttle seats.

Over the ship's comms system Ultra Magnus intoned, "5 klicks to drop, get ready."

Springer and Bulkhead moved into position as the ship suddenly jolted from the impact of the seeker landing on top and then the roof of the shuttle echoed with banging.

"What the? Alright looks like we've got company upstairs, Hot Rod cover FirstAid," the older mech shouted as he leaned out of the hatch for a moment to get a visual on the city.

"Okay Wreckers," commanded Magnus, "time to remind these purple faces who we are! Jump!"

Bulkhead leaped out first plummeting to the ground with Springer close behind. The triple changer quickly transformed into his flight mode and dropped down over Bulkhead to enable him to grab his skids. Once they had a clear visual of the city center they angled their approach for attack.

-City Center-

Tumbler watched as two bots jumped out of the shuttle while it streaked across the city heading toward the space port. He raised his sword as he walked back up the steps to the civilians huddled in front of the building's doors.

Duststorm's systems were starting to come back on line in time to watch Tumbler swing the sword again killing the other neutral mech forcing her to struggle to her pedes. She noted blearily that Tumber was alone as she mounted the stairs. Once she reached the top Duststorm swayed unsteadily and tried to bring her mining laser to bear on the larger mech only to note both weapons were off-line, one laser was completely gone.

Weaponless and not sure what to do she tried to distract him making her voice as vitriolic as possible, "really you're still picking at the neutrals? What a fool! How does killing a bunch of sparklings get you a medic? It doesn't, you idiot. All you'll do is infuriate the Autobots and risk the medic being caught in the cross-fire and poof, dead medic. And what happens to you, the brave sparkling killer? Ah, you'll feel the tender mercies of Shockwave who'll make you pay for that mistake for a long, long time."

"Well, well, well, ain't you a tough little femmie," he said as he walked over to her grabbing her by the throat, making her instinctively claw at his arm.

"Nothing's gonna happen to me, traitor, you'll pay if the medic dies. Although, perhaps not right away. You are a pretty little thing and my mechs could use some femme companionship, seems a shame to waste you," he said as he flung the femme against the doors of the government building.

The slam of her body made a booming noise as the civilians ducked to either side to avoid being struck. She slammed hard against the portal her wings and back taking the brunt of the blow as she hit and then dropped to the ground face first.

Tumbler snorted at the lack of courage displayed by the civilians and turned to watch the shuttle streak overhead. He stepped away from the entrance and moved down the stairs as he shouted over his shoulder, "don't worry, I'm not finished with you yet."

Stunned, Duststorm lay sprawled on the ground when two femme's pulled her closer to them. Duststorm barely registered the movement, her systems were so disoriented that it took a moment for her to feel her body being rolled onto her side forcing her wing into a painful angle. She fought stasis as she heard a soft feminine voice whisper, "I'm sorry we need to use you as a shield, I have to protect the young ones." Duststorm's optics flickered as pain coursed through her systems, her HUD red with system messages when she finally succumbed into temporary stasis.

Springer and Bulkhead dropped in the middle of the city square with pin-point accuracy as they attacked. Despite the Decepticons possessing greater numbers the skill of the two Autobot warriors showed how clearly outclassed their foes were.

-_Metroplex_ Shuttle—

Kup climbed up the side of the speeding shuttle using the attached maintenance ladder and paused to brace himself on it. He pulled his laser out of subspace with his free-servo and then carefully braced it on the hull as he took careful aim at a blood red seeker who was punching the hull. Kup watched the seeker in puzzlement as he half-heartedly punched the hull again. The seeker looked up and caught sight of Kup and shrugged, waiting for him to shoot.

The shuttle hit rough air causing the seeker to flail for a moment before he caught a section of hull for balance and shouted, "well, aren't you going to shoot?"

Kup blinked at the comment as he hung on while Ultra Magnus banked the vessel toward the space port, "well, it's not like you're shooting back are ya kid?"

The seeker smirked and pointed a laser at him and said, "pew, pew, there, I shot at ya. Just shoot me someplace that'll at least let me land, alright?"

The older mech stared bewildered, "you _want_ me to shoot you?"

"Well not the off-lined kinda shooting, just the disabled kinda shooting," Steadyburn said with a shrug, "look, I'm guessing you aren't really prepared to handle Decepticon prisoners, right? So if you shoot me, I can bail and clear out and let you guys have it out with Tumbler and his goons, okay?"

"What kind of Decepticon are you?"

"Seriously? You can't tell the difference between an energon seeker and a combat seeker? Look, it's a long story and there's no time. Oh, hey, before you shoot, they want your medic."

"Fine with me," grumbled Kup as he leveled his weapon and fired at the seeker hitting him near the shoulder. Steadyburn's body was kicked back by the blow but he held on to the ship as he waited for the pain to clear. He checked his systems to see if he could transform and fly away and received verifying system messages.

"Good shot," Steadyburn responded with relief, "here's hoping we don't have to see each other again until after the war." He looked up and gauged the shuttle's descent and pushed off transforming into his jet mode. Black smoke poured from his engines as he sputtered back over the city.

Kup shook his helm and muttered, "I know seekers are crazy, but that's gotta be the weirdest exchange I've ever had…"

—◊◊—◊◊—◊◊—

Longflight stood as a silent sentinel on the empty base's parade ground as he noted the shuttle's disappearance into the smoke. He continued to scan the skies and saw a trail of black smoke and watched with relief as Steadyburn sputtered into a landing. Longflight walked over to his damaged companion to check on his friend, "what happened up there?"

"Where to start… First, Tumbler wants me to take out that shuttle, can you believe that?" Longflight shook his helm and muttered as he fiddled about in his subspace for his med kit.

Soon he was patching up the wound and noted the injury with relief, "at least the mech who shot at you didn't know much about seeker anatomy, he missed your essential systems."

"Oh, he knew what he was doing and if I ever see that Autobot again I'm gonna buy him quite a lot of high grade. Mighty fine shooting."

"Mighty fine… what are you talking about?" Longflight looked at his friend with a bewildered shake of his helm, "sometimes, I'm convinced you're insane." With a huff he patched the blaster wound in the smaller seeker's frame and then closed the medical kit returning it to subspace, "start from the beginning and tell me what happened. Where's Duststorm?"

Steadyburn's wings sunk, "when we followed them in Tumbler'd cornered a bunch of civies, mechs, femmes and sparklings in front of one of the larger buildings. Guess they were trying to get in but didn't make it. They were defenseless, no weapons. Tumbler executed one of them and Duststorm went nuts. I've never seen her act like that. She tried to stop him. I didn't know what to do. I tried to stop her, rescue her but Tumbler's goons caught me."

"So he knocked her down and his troops beat the pit out of her. Then the shuttle came. Tumbler's guys took off after it and I tried to use the distraction to get to her but Tumbler caught me. Threatened to kill her if I didn't take out the shuttle and here I am. Longflight, we've got to get her and get out of here, now, orders be damned."

Longflight looked at his friend contemplatively, "stay here, if I don't succeed at least with those injuries Tumbler can't accuse you of desertion. I'll go take care of Duststorm but if we don't come back, I want you to leave and locate the nearest seeker unit. We'll try to meet up with you later."

Steadyburn nodded as he watched his friend step away, transform and launch off in the direction of the smoke.

-Space Port—

The shuttle hovered over the roof of the space port long enough for Perceptor to jump out. Once he did the shuttle banked and landed. The headman watched shuttle land with relief as he dashed out of the tower to meet the crew.

Perceptor quickly setup his scope and scanned the city, stopping when he reached what looked like an open plaza where a large Decepticon was ordering troops to attack Springer and Bulkhead. Behind the large Decepticon was a huddle of civilians using the body of a fallen seeker as a shield. Perceptor was refocusing his sight on the leader when Springer and Bulkhead were overwhelmed. Changing targeting options, Perceptor started taking out Decepticon after Decepticon as they piled on top of the two Wreckers.

Below on the tarmac Ultra Magnus, Kup, and Hot Rod had just exited the shuttle and were talking strategy with the headman as FirstAid disembarked with his med kit.

Magnus reached up and activated his comms and barked, "listen up! Most of the civilians who aren't already dead are holed up in the city center where Springer and Bulkhead are. Meet up there. Be sure to keep an optic on FirstAid. Perceptor, watch our backs. Magnus, out."

The Autobots below quickly transformed and raced off toward the city center leaving only the headman standing on the tarmac.

-City Center—

Springer and Bulkhead stood back to back as they worked together delivering blows with a martial symmetry, equally beautiful and deadly. Despite their skill the sheer number of Decepticons would've overwhelmed them had it not been for Perceptor's accuracy as he struggled to keep the two Wreckers on-line.

The roar of incoming Autobot reinforcements caused the Decepticons to splinter as some fled, others continued their attack on the two green Wreckers, and the rest fell back to Tumbler. The femmes hiding behind the seeker wailed in fear when Tumbler looked towards them.

Duststorm's systems slowly started coming back on line, her optics were blurry as she watched the battle of shapes in confusion. When she heard the whimpers of the young hidden behind her, she croaked, "what's happening?"

One of the femmes holding a shaking youngling whispered, "the Autobots have arrived."

"Where's Tumbler?"

"Who?"

"The mech that's trying to kill you," she said with a weeze.

"Close, he's at the bottom of the steps," said one petite femme as she stretched up to look over Duststorm's wing.

"The Decepticon troops, are they distracted?"

"I think so," she whispered. Duststorm nodded and shifted again to get a better view. As she scanned the battle, the disarray in the quad was intense with fighting mechs, dust, and weapon's fire. With a groan, she pushed herself up to get a better view of the surrounding area.

With the focus of the battle seeming to be in the center of the quad, Duststorm whispered, "quickly! Run behind this building and head over to the space port. If the Autobots have a shuttle it's probably there and it'll be the safest place for you to hide. Now go!"

The small group of New Iaconians shuffled off the stairs, hunched with fear, as they ducked behind the building as quietly as they could. Duststorm pushed herself back to lean against the door as much as her wings would allow and watched the melee to see if their departure was noticed. Her systems were barely functioning and she fought stasis as long as she could until she finally succumbed again, slowly leaning over onto her arm, then collapsing onto the ground.

Longflight flew in low until he reached the edge of the city, transformed and landed. He cautiously moved from building to building using their larger bulk as shelter while he listened for the sounds of battle. When he reached the center of the city, he knelt down behind a building and looked around the corner cautiously. The fighting seemed to be pulling away from the quad and filtering off onto surface streets. He rose a little higher to see if he could see on top of the steps of the largest building he assumed was the one Steadyburn described. He noticed Duststorm was on the ground and was being used as a shield to block the civilians from weapon's fire.

Longflight paused knowing his large form would be seen when he crossed to the stairs and waited for the optimum moment to move. The plaza was heavy with smoke and dust, occasionally lit by blaster fire. Longflight looked back at Duststorm to see how she was doing and watched in surprise as she was turned slightly to view the battle better, her red optics flickering.

Longflight opened his comms., "Duststorm, what's your status?" He watched as the civilians quickly abandoned her and ran around the building as she tried to sit but collapsed. Longflight looked again toward the quad and thought it was safe to move. He left the cover of the building only to be brought up short when a large hand reached out of the smoke to clutch his throat, quite a feat given Longflight's larger size.

"What are you doing here," hissed Tumbler as he pushed Longflight up against the wall of the building he'd been using as cover. "You were ordered to remain at base." Longflight's wings scraped against the stone and mortar.

Looking down at Tumbler, Longflight answered calmly, "one of my team is down, I came to help."

Tumbler raised a blue slimed sword to his throat, "stupid mech. If the Autobots get ahold of you or take you out, our mission is blown." The shorter black ground mech pulled him around the building and pushed him away from the quad, "get your aft back to base, now!"

Longflight's optics narrowed as he shoved the smaller mech back, "_I_ don't leave my people behind. Step aside now. I will pick her up and take her back to base. I do this or I don't fly."

"You'd disobey orders for a stupid femme?!"

Longflight leaned over his optics glowing a brighter red in anger, "you are a fool. Which units are more valuable to the Decepticon cause, a seeker that finds energon or a ground unit that burns through it? Remember your place Tumbler. I've allowed you to command my unit as a courtesy but you crossed the line when you attacked my trine. Do your job and get the medic and if you ever touch a member of my trine again, you'll live a very long time to regret it. You have my word on that."

"Who the frag do you think you are mech," Tumbler glared as he started to swing his sword.

Longflight made a fist and punched the sword sending it flying. Then he bent and picked up a rock and tossed it in the air, "do you know what happens when an object is warped inside of your spark chamber?" He snatched the rock from the air and held the rock in front of Tumbler's optics, "would you like me to show you."

Tumbler's optics strayed to the rock and then he frowned as he straightening his spine, "fine, get your femme. But you'd better be ready to transport the medic." The grounder swung around and picked up his sword and headed back into the plaza.

Longflight vented grateful the mech wasn't smart enough to catch the bluff as he dashed up the steps to Duststorm. He knelt next to her and did a cursory scan noting her accumulated injuries. He ran a gentle hand over her wing with a disheartened sigh and then slowly rolled her so he could pick her up.

It was inevitable he would be spotted. Shuttle-sized seekers, especially one whose dominant color was white attracted the attention of several Autobots who fired at him. Gratefully they missed and he took that as encouragement to leave, so he did. Keeping Duststorm close to his chassis he leaped off the stairs and dashed back into an alleyway hoping the Autobots wouldn't follow.

After running down several streets he stopped and leaned against a building to listen for pursuit. He sighed in relief when there appeared to be no sounds of movement following him. Longflight gently laid the small femme on the ground and quickly pulled out his medical kit and started to make minor repairs on Duststorm's frame.

—◊◊—◊◊—◊◊—

Tumbler noted with disappointment that the battle was turning against them. He had to extract the medic now before all was lost. He abandoned his forces to make his way along a side street when he caught sight of an Autobot. He paused to watch what the mech was doing and by his actions realized he'd stumbled upon the medic. Taking care, Tumbler maneuvered his way around and behind FirstAid while he was bent over treating a wounded civilian. The smoke made visibility poor which gave Tumbler an advantage, once he was sure there were no other Autobots present he carefully approached and raised his sword.

FirstAid was patching up a main line energon leak on a young mech while trying to keep an eye on the battle in front of him. Unfortunately he neglected to check his rear as the Decepticon crept forward. FirstAid knew he was in trouble when the mech he was treating gurgled a yell in surprise and then FirstAid was knocked off-line. Tumbler's sword struck him like a cricket bat and flung the Autobot several feet into the dirt. Tumbler walked over to the civilian and pointed his sword, "silence will keep you alive."

The young mech nodded in terror as he held the patch tightly in place as he watched the Decepticon lean over and grab the medic by the back plating and drag him away.

Tumbler quickly sheathed his weapon and drug the stunned Autobot behind him as wended his way back through the city trying to find the shuttle. Tumbler scanned for Decepticon signals and went off after two that appeared to be heading back to base. Taking a chance that would be Longflight, he followed. Since Longflight had stopped to repair Duststorm it didn't take long for Tumbler to reach them. When he approached he dropped the medic in front of the shuttle, "transform and ready for flight."

"What? From here?" Longflight stood and returned the medical kit back into his subspace, "aren't we going to regroup back at base? Steadyburn's still there."

"Not important. We're losing the battle, we better move now." Longflight sighed and transformed, opening his cargo hold. Tumbler picked up the medic and threw him and then Duststorm into the hold and climbed in himself.

Longflight quickly cycled his engines and rolled down one of the larger streets readying to launch. As expected, the Autobots responded quickly, they'd mobilized their forces in an attempt to try to block Longflight's escape but they were too late. Longflight reached the necessary speed and took off with only a few laser hits to his chassis as he quickly pushed for altitude.

—◊◊—◊◊—◊◊—

Kup watched the shuttle's retreating form as he lowered his blaster. The civilian mech FirstAid had been treating ran up to him shouting that the medic had been taken. Kup regarded the retreating shuttle in a new light as he privately commed Perceptor, "_Perceptor, I need IDs on all Autobots present, please tell me the medic is still here._"

_:'No, I'm not picking up the medic's signal.'_

Kup frowned as he ran back into the cleared quad and joined up with Magnus, "the Decepticons grabbed FirstAid."

The senior officer stared at Kup, clearly restraining himself then tipped his helm activating comms., "Wreckers, take care of the rest of the Decepticons. Looks like they've snatched FirstAid so Perceptor when it looks clear I want you to head over to the medical center and see if you can find anybot to help take care of the wounded, if not, you're the medic now."

"The Council's going to be furious," Kup said as he crossed his arms over his chassis.

"I wouldn't blame them, it was our responsibility to protect him," Ultra Magnus said in frustration, "the questions we need answers for is where are they headed and why would the Decepticons need a medic so badly they'd be willing to attack civilians. Use the port's comms to inform command. Also, I want you to comm Skylynx and let him know what's happened and to be ready to leave if the Council follows through with their threats."

"What if he's not ready to fly?"

"When has that ever stopped us?" Ultra Magnus moved off helping to collect the fallen.

"True," Kup muttered, "but from time to time I kinda like it when things go our way."

—◊◊—◊◊—◊◊—

The planet slowly receded from view as Longflight sent out a private comm:, '_Steadyburn, you're on your own, my friend. Tumbler's aboard with the medic and Duststorm. He won't let me stop to pick you up. Regroup with seeker command and be safe. Longflight out."_

Tumbler walked to the front of the ship and threw himself in the command chair, as soon as he punched in the coordinates he snapped at the shuttle, "what's taking you so long to warp? It won't take long for those Autobots to come after us." Tumbler punched the command console in frustration not noticing the two in the cargo hold were coming back online.

"Tumbler," Longflight answered parentally, "your mission was the acquisition and extraction of the medic. Mine is transport. In fact, there's nothing in our orders that requires you to even be here. Which means from this point on I'm in command and I will get the medic to Megatron alive."

Tumbler pulled out a laser and tapped Longflight's console, "see here's the problem. You can't threaten me with rocks now that I'm inside of you and armed. So, I'm in charge. You will warp and do so now. That is an order."

Duststorm's optics flickered online as she listened to the conversation in the command cabin and slowly pushed herself up to her pedes.

FirstAid watched in curiosity as the sleek femme painfully moved towards the front of the vessel. He checked his systems and noted that despite a shaken processor he was neither damaged nor bound. He blinked in surprise at his unrestrained servos as he listened to the argument thoughtfully, "_Megatron needs a medic? What for?_"

"Tumbler," Duststorm said hoarsely as she leaned against the cabin wall. "Longflight is a trusted and loyal Decepticon, he will get us to Megatron quickly and safely."

Tumbler turned with a sneer and backhanded the black femme sending her flying into the cargo hold, "shut up traitor." He stood and removed stasis-cuffs from subspace as he strode over to her. Looking down he placed a large pede on her abdomen to hold her in place as he grabbed one arm and then the other to quickly attach the cuffs. With a satisfied grunt he dropped her arms onto her tank and gave her a slight kicking push forcing her to slide up against the medic. As he turned he caught the shimmery blue light of FirstAid's visor and grinned, "ah, it seems our medic is up as well."

FirstAid attempted to back away from the Decepticon but was quickly captured and cuffed as the femme had been. He shuddered when the stasis cuffs engaged around his wrists with a groan.

"I can't have you makin' any trouble there doc," Tumbler said with a mischievous grin as he flipped the femme on top of the medic with a snort.

"There, that should keep the two of you outta trouble. You can thank me later femme for letting your last moments online be relatively pleasurable before your execution." Tumbler laughed crassly as he made his way back to the front of the shuttle and seated himself in the command chair.

Duststorm looked down at the Autobot in shock and horror as she struggled weakly to get off of the medic. Too weak to dislodge herself she sighed in defeat as she dropped her helm on top of FirstAid's chassis and snarled into it, "don't even think about touching me Autoscum. As soon as I have enough strength I'm putting as much distance between us as possible." She looked up and frowned at him again, but as before only saw her reflection scowling back as the mech had both visor and battle mask engaged.

"I would never take a femme against her will," FirstAid responded. His gentle voice caused her to stare at him in surprise as she wasn't expecting such kind tones from an Autobot. "Nor would I take advantage of one who's been injured. I'm sorry I can't help you right now." He shrugged his shoulders with difficulty.

"Like you'd help a Decepticon," she scoffed, "please, do I look that gullible?"

FirstAid shook his head and responded calmly, "no. Since you don't know me I guess I shouldn't expect you to believe me. So let's correct that. My designation is FirstAid, I'm a medic and a Protectobot who's sworn to protect and save lives and that includes Decepticons."

Duststorm rolled her optics and scoffed, "Autobots only protect what's in their best interests to protect. I know that first hand, so save your pretty speeches for those who don't know any better."

FirstAid sighed, "sadly it looks like I won't be able to prove my intentions are sincere. Tell me, why are you being executed?"

Duststorm stared at the wall of the shuttle and huffed, "I did something stupid. I interfered when Tumbler was executing neutrals."

FirstAid shifted slightly as he tried to pick the lock on his cuffs. It was difficult given his hands were on his chassis and she was on top of them, "you did? Why?"

Duststorm frowned, "they had sparklings and… Look, I'm no Autobot that goes around killing sparklings."

"Autobots don't kill sparklings," FirstAid corrected gently.

"Lies," she hissed, "Megatron would never allow femmes or sparklings to be killed."

FirstAid stared at the femme in surprise, which his covered face did not reveal, "I wish that were true, but it's not. It was Megatron who ordered the youth sector bombardments. Sparklings, younglings, mechs and femmes barely into their first armor, were obliterated. I know, I was there… and there was nothing I could do… So many lost…" FirstAid turned his head away lost in memories as the Decepticon scowled at him.

Duststorm recognized the honesty in his voice but was frustrated that she couldn't see his face, "remove your mask Autobot, let me see your face."

"No," FirstAid responded with a choked voice, "I… please… I do not wish to speak of this further."

She frowned as she rested her chin on his chassis and stared at the side of his helm in silence. He turned to view her again, "I'm glad you protected those sparklings."

She hummed thoughtfully as she turned her helm and rested it back on his chassis. His words were as disconcerting as was the hum of his spark as she lay atop the mech. She had never been intimate with any bot preferring to keep her distance. Sadly until her systems grew stronger she would have to remain there until she had the strength to push herself off, unless.

"Autobot," she growled, "I am unable to dislodge myself. Can you shift your frame so we can be in a less provocative position?"

FirstAid nodded, "I will do my best, but I'm afraid given my restraints I cannot do so easily without giving you further injury."

"Doesn't matter, do it," she ordered.

FirstAid sighed, "can you fold your wings?"

The femme grimaced as she complied, her wings slowly folded over her back as her systems groaned in complaint. She huffed in pain, "done."

"Ready yourself," he said as he slowly shifted his body and gave his frame a slight shake. Her cockpit was stuck in the gap between his window framed chassis, so with a gentle push of his servos finally she rolled off free. With a thump she hit the floor of the shuttle on her side and rolled onto her back.

"Thank you," she said begrudgingly.

"You're welcome," FirstAid replied, "I will do everything I can to see to it that they do not execute you."

She snorted, "at this point, you should worry about yourself Autobot. It's Megatron himself who wants you, Primus knows why."

Both prisoners settled into an uneasy silence as Tumbler's voice rose in volume, "Longflight, make the jump already!" Tumbler activated his blaster and at first pointed it at the console but reconsidered as tapped the barrel on it instead, "do it now or I'll take it out on your little femme. Do you understand?"

"Threats are neither necessary nor required. I _am_ a loyal Decepticon," retorted Longflight, "and we _will_ arrive at our destination safely with the cargo intact and that includes my femme. Now I require silence to make my flight calculations."

Tumbler frowned, "just tell me how much longer."

Longflight sighed, "the Sol system is too far to reach in one jump. So I will have to calculate approximately three separate jumps. If care is not taken I could end up warping us into a planet or a star. So stop pressuring me, ah, the first coordinates are ready so prepare for warp in 5, 4, 3, 2… Engaging warp drive."

Longflight's warp engines thrummed and enveloped his body in a bubble of warped space and then he vanished. The bots within Longflight's body were only partially shielded from the distortions of space as Tumbler groaned from the shift in his system's equilibrium sensors. Both Duststorm and FirstAid had experienced warp flight before and simply adjusted to compensate for the shift.

Even for a mech of Longflight's capabilities the jump was the furthest he'd made. He groaned when they exited warp space completing the first leg of their journey. He advised his crew with a voice heavily laced with fatigue, "first jump successfully completed. Systems need recharging to make the next jump. Fuel up and recharge."

Before Longflight had completed his recharging sequence he received a private comm. from Duststorm: _"I don't trust Tumbler, Longflight. Once we arrive, I want you to dump us and run. Get as far from this war as possible. You're special 'Flight, I don't want them hurting you or putting you on the front lines."_

_:"I won't leave you. What kind of trine leader would I be if I ditched you to save my aft?"_

_:"A living trine leader,"_ she commed back. _"You know we've been picking up odd reports about Decepticon activities. Then there's Tumbler and his lack of restraint against the neutrals. Rumors mentioned brutality, I just figured it was Autobot propaganda. But how do we know for sure? Anyway, Tumbler seems like the kind of mech to hold a grudge, so I think he's going to push for some sort of disciplinary action. It's better for you not to be there so they don't place the blame on you as my commander. I don't know what else to do, 'Flight. I'm scared."_

:"_I am as well but I haven't lived this long to die now. Look sweetspark, there's no reason to be afraid. You know as well as I that Megatron abhors injustice, he'll understand. You were protecting innocents like he does all the time, how could he possibly see wrong with that. I think the one who should be afraid is Tumbler. Trust in Megatron, just look at all he's gone through to break us free from the Primes and what they did to us."_

:"_I know. It's just something the medic said."_

:"_You know you can't trust Autobots."_

:"_I know, but I can hear the ring of truth in a bot's voice and he was telling the truth. Add the rumors and Tumbler's actions? Until we know what's going on for sure, I think you should take Steadyburn and hold up in a neutral colony until the end of the war."_

:"_I will not leave a member of my trine."_

:"_You have to, my spark is screaming danger. Just please, do this for me?"_

:"_Duststorm anything unusual makes your spark scream. I mean, it was your spark that kept us from bonding you dense-plated femme. We belong together, always have and you know it. I will not leave you to be executed. There will be a way out of this."_

:"_You're going to be difficult aren't you, you stubborn old mech. Fine, be that way. Plot your warps and keep an optic out. But the minute things shift against us, bolt, promise me that?"_

:"_You know, most femmes would swoon to have an ancient mech like me as her bond. Fine, I promise, I'll bolt if things go against us."_

:"_Thank you."_

:"_I have to rest now or Bumbler will start waving his weapon around again."_

:"_Good recharge my friend,_" she said gently and then stared at the cabin roof which was also the spine of her trine commander knowing she'd do anything to insure a rare spark like his would continue on.

"What's wrong," FirstAid asked as he noted the fluctuations in the femme's em field.

She sighed in frustration and muttered, "nosey Autobot." Then she lowered her voice even more, "I don't want Longflight to suffer punishment for my mistakes. I've asked him to warp out once we reach our destination, but he's being stubborn."

"Why," FirstAid asked keeping his voice as soft as possible.

"Tumbler's the kind of mech to press charges and Longflight's my commander and will take responsibility for my actions. I'd rather he dump us and go. You may not know this but there are few seekers with warp capabilities and shuttle-sized mechs are rarer still. He is a valuable and rare mech, I want him safe."

"Which any bonded would say to their mate, but it also makes sense why he won't leave you."

She tipped her helm to look up into his visor, "I really hate that I can't see your features mech. We're not bonded, seekers don't have to bond to form trines."

"I see," he said as he turned away processing that new information while he wondered what Megatron was planning on doing with him. He monitored his systems and noted a shift in energy signatures of the crew as they powered down and then allowed his own systems to fall into recharge.

—◊◊—◊◊—◊◊—

The next jump progressed in the same fashion only this time in silence broken only for Longflight to advise them of their status.

"Get ready for the last jump," Longflight's voice echoed within his frame, "I'm going to try to get as close to orbit as possible. Then I'll need some time to rest and plot entry. My energy reserves are low, which means I need to take greater care to prepare for an atmospheric landing."

"What the frag for just land," snarled Tumbler in frustration, "all this sitting around and resting is for the weak. Are you a Decepticon or not?"

"I'm a living Decepticon and I'd like to stay that way," retorted Longflight growing tired of the constant badgering from the grounder.

"I'm starting to think you're putting off landing so you can figure out a way to save your pretty femme. Don't bother because it isn't going to work. So you busy your shiny aft and put us down as soon as we get there or I start on her. Clear?"

"Very," responded Longflight tersely as he continued to make the final calculations. Once the results were confirmed he sent a private comm. to Duststorm, _"what an aft."_

:"_Yes he is. And a vengeful one, please Longflight, reconsider? Just dump us and go."_

:"_Enough. You're being tiresome. I will do what I will do."_

:"_Fine, I'll stop. But, would it hurt to plot an emergency warp out to be safe? Isn't that standard procedures?"_

Longflight ignored the femme, "calculations confirmed, I've commed Decepticon Command and have just received landing coordinates. Once we've reached orbit I'll compute landing and proceed when I'm able. Ready for the last warp jump in 5, 4, 3, 2… Engaging warp systems."

—◊◊—◊◊—◊◊—

The only thing Longflight wasn't prepared for was the litter peppering the space surrounding the small blue planet. Normally his long-range scanners could pick up debris patterns and respond accordingly. However, the size of the matter was too small to read so when he emerged from warp he banged into an old satellite and shuddered with the impact.

It was enough of a bump to throw him off course as the planet's gravity pulled him into entry. If he had more fuel he could've adjusted his position. He did not, so he would have to allow the landing and save his reserves in case it was necessary to make an emergency warp out.

He followed the descent of the satellite as it plummeted flaming into the atmosphere and switched the interior cabin's lights to red as a claxon rang out, "I've struck debris, it's pushed us off course. It'll take too much fuel to adjust, so we're going down hot. No way to make the landing coordinates, advising command of the change. Be prepared for a crash landing."

Following the trajectory of the debris Longflight allowed the flames to engulf the nose of his vehicle and grinned when he heard Tumbler's reaction of horror as the forward view screen was engulfed in flames. They weren't in any danger at all but there didn't seem to be any reason Longflight could think of to reassure the mech considering all the trouble he'd put Longflight and his trine through. He almost laughed aloud as the grounder screamed. He quietly commed Duststorm to let her know what was really happening.

"Get ready," she said softly to the mech beside her as she tried to brace herself and then shouted, "Tumbler, get these fragging stasis cuffs off so we can brace ourselves better!"

Tumbler staggered over to the two prisoners who were bouncing about in the cargo hold and frowned. He pointed his blaster at the Autobot, "I can't deliver you injured to Megatron so I'm going to unlock your cuffs. The minute you try anything I'll shoot the femme. Are we clear?"

"Clear," FirstAid responded as the Decepticon roughly jerked the stasis cuffs off of the medic. Once freed, FirstAid sat up and rubbed his wrists to confirm he hadn't been harmed from the cuffs.

"Go ahead, hold onto the femme," sneered Tumbler as he waved the blaster in FirstAid's masked face, "that should keep your hands occupied."

Longflight interrupted, genuine concern lacing his voice, "brace yourselves, landing's going to be rougher than usual. I may have to eject you if I can't pull out." He tried to adjust his flight path but was having difficulties dealing with the northern magnetic pole. He quickly made the appropriate calculations for a jump, to be safe.

FirstAid pulled the femme into his arms, "if Tumbler will not release your cuffs, I must brace you. I'm sorry. I'll let you go once we've safely landed."

She twitched uncomfortably as the ship rocked, "you better, Autobot."

Longflight's navigational computer started blaring warnings, everything was wrong, angle position and not enough fuel. His only option was to engage his warp engines and hope the momentum generated would allow him, once out of warp to drift close to Decepticon forces for a pick up. He sighed in frustration and privately commed his trine-mate: '_you have your wish. Trajectory is all wrong and I don't have enough fuel to correct. I'm going to have to warp into space and hope I can get picked up. I'm sorry, I didn't want to abandon you like this.'_

_:'I know you didn't. Longflight…'_

_:'sorry sweetspark….' _Longflight did a short thruster burst to roll so that his cargo hold could be opened without the flames that were sweeping around his form to harm them. He opened his hold and watched with regret as his passengers flew out.

Once they were clear he drew uncomfortably closer to the surface as he waited for the last coordinate to clear, warp engines ready. The question was, which would happen first the crash or warp?

Duststorm pushed at FirstAid to move his arms away from her wings, when he realized what she was doing he held onto her cuffed arms as she opened her wings and ignited her engines to slow their fall and then rotated to a standing position to use her pede thrusters to slow descent.

FirstAid struggled to hang on to the femme's cuffed wrists as he fell upside down, the landscape a golden and rocky vista, drew closer. He knew she was struggling to maintain control with her pede thrusters and wings, but his extra weight and drag was throwing her off-balance. He was surprised she hadn't tried to dislodge him to save herself and instead fought to slow their fall.

Duststorm wasn't looking at the mech struggling to hang on nor at Tumbler as he screamed falling past them. She watched Longflight as he tried to adjust his position drawing closer to the ground. "Now," she said encouragingly despite the wind ripping her words away. When he hadn't warped she screamed, "LONGFLIGHT! WARP NOW!"

FirstAid followed her gaze and watched as the shuttle plummeted closer to the ground then about 200 feet above the sandy floor a purplish bubble of light enveloped the shuttle. Just as the warp bubble kissed the sands the shuttle vanished leaving just an indentation behind.

Duststorm looked up at the Autobot and pulled him down so that he could awkwardly wrap his arms around her body as she increased thrust from her pede jets. He watched in horror as Tumbler crashed hard into the ground and closed his optics as he feared he would soon meet the same fate. Knowing her thrusters weren't enough she pushed her helm into the crook of FirstAid's neck so he could hear her apologize, "sorry…"

They hit the ground hard forcing them both into emergency stasis.

A/N: And… whew need to stop here so I can post. The next chapter may take a bit to post as there are a lot of pieces being juggled and also the challenge of continuity, spelling, yadda yadda.

Any questions or comments (of a kindly nature) are gratefully appreciated. Thank you so much for reading!


	3. Earth - Part 1

Legal Stuff: Transformers, et al., are not mine, only my OCs. This story isn't intended for sale.

A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting, this chapter was getting really big so I'll be posting this in smaller segments. Regarding the movies, I'm not doing a play-by-play I want to focus on the bits that hopefully move this story along and make it enjoyable.

A very special thank you goes out to Kitsune Triforce and Guest.

Cybertronian/Earth Time Reference:

Breem / about 8 minutes

Groon/about 1 Earth hour

Orn/about 1 Earth day

Orbital Cycle/about 1 Earth year

Vorn/about 83 Earth years

Chapter 3 – Earth Campaign (Part 1)

- Earth Calendar 2007 – Prior to the Mission City Incident - Chicago, Illinois -

Ellie Forester stepped off the downtown bus in Chicago loaded with a suitcase and backpack. She stepped aside to look at a note to get her bearings and then strode off towards a small industrial building that had been converted into flats. Ellie was 23 now and moving downtown to be closer to her job so she could economize on expenses.

Her family had been both emotionally and financially devastated when her mother finally succumbed to cancer. Despite insurance assistance the medical bills were extensive, even after sacrificing both Ellie's college fund and her father Stan's retirement savings. So instead of starting college with her friends she had taken any job she could to help her father pay down the bills. Six months ago they finally succeeded and were now, officially, debt free. Once that milestone was achieved her father encouraged her to focus on earning money for college. Sure she'd be older than most students starting, but peer acceptance was the least of her concerns.

Stan to his surprise had found love again. He had remarried and they were now expecting their first child. With her father's new family responsibilities, Ellie decided it was time to strike off on her own. She knew her dad and new step mother were disappointed she was leaving and in a way she was too because she was absolutely excited about having a new little brother or sister to coo over. But, she also wanted to focus on a career and she knew she had to start now.

Ellie's father had volunteered to take out a student loan to help but after having suffered one debt she was loath to force her dad into another, especially with a child coming. So school would be 'pay as you go' and by necessity take longer. Even more so given her desire to do something within the medical field but the result would leave Ellie relatively debt free once she had her degree.

She'd been hired at Accuretta Systems in Chicago which had recently branched out with new Biotechnology and Medical Research divisions. What interested her in the company was their proposal to combine the two divisions' research which included nanotechnology as possible surgical devices. Ellie figured all she needed to do was get her foot in the door and with hard work she might be able to work her way up. Even if she wasn't successful in a obtaining a college degree, at least she was working within an industry with medical leanings. She knew she was being a stereotypical idealist but was it really wrong to be so when she was truly grateful for the medical advancements that helped her mother live as long as she had? Or perhaps help others live even longer?

Ellie's new residence was a loft she was "house-sitting" while the owner was in Europe, until a cheaper residence could be found. As she walked up to the large sturdy metal door she used her new key to open it. The loft, once she walked in was tiny but that was alright as she dropped her suitcase and backpack on the floor. The pluses were that she wouldn't have to worry about furnishings and all she had to do was keep up the place and make sure the bills were paid. She stretched and walked over to the bathroom to freshen up after the long bus ride.

As she fixed her hair she had to lean closer to the mirror to squint to see better. A classic example of the 'girl-next-door-with-glasses' had her easily blending into a crowd at 5'4" with dark brown hair and eyes. She wore glasses simply because she was never was able to overcome the discomfort of inserting and wearing the lenses. Her father teased her frequently about her squeamishness and suggested perhaps pursing a medical career might not be the right decision for her. She looked at herself and shrugged, countering that she wouldn't know for sure what she was capable of unless she tried. As to her lenses, she argued she was always losing anyways so it would be cheaper to wear glasses.

Living economically would be hard but it was sort of a fun kind of challenge. Especially because she knew if things got too rough her father and new step-mother would happily welcome her back and no doubt be grateful for the extra help with the baby.

—◊◊—◊◊—◊◊—

Monday morning came quickly as Ellie filed in with the rest of Accuretta Systems' employees. Instead of taking the elevators, she turned and headed towards the mailroom. True, it was not anything close to medicine nor glamorous but it got her foot in a door which was what she wanted. She knew that once she was in, she could start networking. Some said if you could put a friendly face to a resume that would increase your chances of being hired within a company.

Unfortunately the mailroom didn't pay a great deal and despite economizing she hadn't saved enough to start college yet. She considered getting a second job when the company started a new incentive program. Their medical division was taking volunteers for human testing which included monetary incentives. Her father discouraged her immediately but she reassured him she would be careful and vet each program before even considering applying.

One project she'd been reading about, the plus of being in the mailroom is that you delivered a lot of material about various projects, was nanobyte technology. One particular brochure had promoted Dr. Gurmit Krishmanurty, a leading expert in the field whose recent hire had been a big coup for Accuretta Systems.

Right now, his division was working on creating microscopic devices 'nanobots' that could be programmed or directed to locate and destroy cancer cells as an alternative to the harsh chemical and radiation treatments or surgery being used. With millions suffering from cancer the thought of actually finding something that might heal without harming the patient was truly exciting. Shareholders, likewise, found the prospect financially inducing as they poured money into the project in the hopes of being on the ground-floor of a major medical breakthrough.

— 'D' Day, Mission City – Chicago, Illinois -

Ellie pushed her cart forward as the elevator doors opened onto the 6th floor.

"Hey Ellie, anything for me today?" The 6th floor receptionist called out as Ellie passed by with her mail cart.

Ellie reached in and pulled out a bundle and handed it to her. "Yep, here you go. By the way I was wondering if you knew when the testing lists were out for Dr. Krishmanurty's next phase?"

"Thanks E. Testing? No I don't, but he's in his office today. Why don't you go ask him?"

"I will, thanks Katie!" Ellie waved as she pushed the mail cart down the "hall", a typical office floor where the center housed a small warren of low-walled cubes surrounded by hard-walled offices.

The 6th floor was where the 'theoretical' research was done, whereas the fabrication and testing was several levels below ground in specially designed bunkers for containment should anything go wrong. As she passed out mail to the various cubicles and offices she heard a gasp from one of the research assistants in the central area. She pushed her cart closer to see what was going on.

Several heads turned as the researcher raised the volume on her computer's speaker as a news report played on her screen, "massive casualties and building damage. The gas explosion is forcing an immediate evacuation. As we speak the police…"

The reporter was interrupted by several more loud explosions, screams and then a police officer grabbed the camera shoving it aside, "YOU WERE TOLD TO EVACUATE THE AREA, MOVE!"

The reporter, in between breaths as she ran, continued to speak as her camera man valiantly tried to keep her and the event behind them in focus, "we've just been ordered to evacuate the area by the police." She skidded to a stop behind a car and knelt so the cameraman could focus on her and then stood so they could have the city in the backdrop before the police could ask them to leave again.

"To recap, Mission City is being rocked by a series of violent explosions. Fatalities are climbing and details are sketchy, the Police are evacuating the city. As soon as we get more information we'll let you know, this is Mica Gonzalez reporting live in Mission City on Channel…."

One of the doors to a hard-walled office swung open and a man of Indian descent walked out and interrupted loudly, "I appreciate your concern regarding this situation, but we are under pressure to meet deadlines. Please, turn down that speaker and allow everyone to get back to their tasks."

The research assistant apologized and immediately turned off the speaker, reduced the screen that was playing the news broadcast, and went back to work. As he turned to go back into his office he noted Ellie and her mail cart, "anything for me today Ellie?"

"No Dr. Krishmanurty. Ah, doctor can I have a moment please? Has the human trial testing been approved yet for your nanobots?"

He chuckled at her enthusiasm, "thank you for asking. We're very close and I appreciate your eagerness as I too am quite eager to see if our little nanobots can do the job. But, they can't if I tarry, have a good afternoon Ellie. Oh, I'll be sure to leave you a packet at the front desk once trials open, thank you for your interest."

- Autobot Frigate _Varion_ -

"Prowl," Blaster turned in his seat at communications to acknowledge the arrival of the black and white mech on the bridge. "I've got Prime on the box."

"Activate the comms," Prowl nodded as he sat in the commander's chair, "this is Prowl, go ahead sir."

"I must be brief," the Prime's voice came over the bridge's speakers, crackling from the weak signal. "Megatron and the AllSpark have been destroyed. The location of StarScream and Soundwave are unknown but presumed still here on Earth. The Decepticons are not evacuating as expected. I fear the inhabitants are in danger, so, new orders: mobilize our forces and join me here. Blaster, switch to private comms, I need to speak with Prowl."

"You got it boss-bot," Blaster responded as he made the appropriate adjustments and then pointed to Prowl.

Prowl nodded and switched frequencies, _'ready sir.'_

_:'There's no easy way to say this old friend… we lost Jazz. I know you were good friends so I'll leave it up to you to decide how you'll inform the Autobots. I'm sorry I wasn't able to do more. Stay safe. Prime out.'_

Prowl stared at the view screen in disbelief his battle computer quickly engaging to help him cope with his rising emotions, _'Jazz is gone? No… that's… that's just not possible. How… He's gone?!'_

Blaster watched the First with a frown knowing something was wrong, "Prowl, are you okay man?"

The vocal pattern was too reminiscent of Jazz's familiar cadence and it broke through Prowl's thoughts like acid, he stared at Blaster for a moment and then lied, "yes."

Prowl stepped away from the command chair and walked over to his station to retrieve reports hoping to dissuade Blaster from asking more questions. Flashing memories assaulted the First, the first time he met Jazz, Jazz's first attempts to set him up with a femme, the first time they went drinking, the war, the jokes, their sorrows, and the pranks Jazz pulled on him. As each memory played the door-winger clenched his servo tighter trying to maintain control.

"Ooookay," Blaster said disbelieving the First's answer but instead of pursing that line of thought he leaned back in his seat. "Megsy's off-lined, finally, that's a good thing but the AllSpark's gone too? We're so screwed…"

"Blaster," Prowl barked, his response rough as he continued to wage his internal battle. "What you've heard does not need to be transmitted to the crew. Morale is low enough already. Just be grateful Optimus is still functioning and Megatron isn't. Trust Prime. Perhaps he can use the Matrix to figure out how we can go on without the AllSpark. Clear?"

"Clear. But, ah didn't think you were the kinda bot to believe in that Matrix claptrap," Blaster said as he regarded the First oddly.

Prowl leapt on the opportunity to distract his processor and help him master his emotions, "I do not believe in the claims of its mystical properties. What I do believe in is what Prime told me about the Matrix. The Matrix is like a specialized interactive repository of information from all of the Primes who possessed it. Some of our brightest minds were Primes and with careful analysis perhaps Optimus can glean a solution."

"Ah, now that's a Prowly answer if ah ever heard one. So what's next boss," Blaster grinned as he spun about to face his station readying for Prowl's next burst of orders.

"What Prime asked," Prowl said as he stood up from his station knowing there was no way he'd be able to concentrate, "regroup and try to get our forces to Earth before the majority of the Decepticons do."

"Uhhh," Blaster said with a sigh, "ya know, that's not gonna be easy given our current troop deployment."

Prowl's door-wing gave a slight flick, "when has this war ever been easy for us Blaster? Regardless, we must focus on what we can do. True, some units will not make it in time but others will, issue the orders. I'll be in my quarters if you need me."

"You got it boss," Blaster turned to his comms and sent out the mobilization order as Prowl strode off the bridge. Once the message was sent Blaster focused on the dual task of intelligence gathering and managing basic incoming communications.

As expected, once the orders were sent comm traffic increased. Soon Blaster was wading through complaints ranging from lack of energon, weapons, failing ships, or just needing ships for those troops still land-locked.

'_No wonder Prowl bolted_,' Blaster complained to himself as he sorted the messages, '_we're a sorry bunch o'bots. Let's just hope the Decepticons are just as bad off as we are.'_

— Chicago, Illinois—

Months later, Ellie was eating her lunch at the break table in the mail room when one of the other clerks jumped up and shouted, "hey! You guys just HAVE to see this! There's this video on one of the conspiracy sites that says the explosions in Mission City were done by ROBOTS! And they have videos! Can you freaking believe that?! ROBOTS!" A few of the other guys laughed and snorted with a variety of comments of 'yeah right.'

One of the others teased the youth, "Jake you're such a geek. Anybody can fake something like that, you're so gullible."

"No, really," Jake pleaded his young face earnestly hoping for someone to believe him, "you gotta check this out!"

"Does it really matter? Fake or not, it still might be fun to watch, "Ellie stood up amidst the joking staff and walked over to Jake's station and joined him. Jake beamed his gratitude as she motioned for him to show her.

"Look," Jake exclaimed as he replayed the video. It was shaky and of poor quality, but the screaming and the fear of the people certainly looked real. Suddenly the camera view turned and caught a large pickup truck which seemed to lift off the ground and… reshuffle itself as it flipped. The screen shook as the video followed the reassembling vehicle as it turned into a robot. The person recording the incident kept repeating, "oh my God, oh my God." The video ended as Jake's brown eyes looked into hers with a mixture of fear and excitement.

"Well…, wow. Even if that wasn't real," Ellie commented stunned, "that was pretty amazing. A truck that can turn into a robot? How do people come up with stuff like that?"

"Yeah, pretty freakin' amazing if you ask me and didn't that look real? What if they are, real I mean? Why are they here? What are they here for? What are they like? And even if it was made up wouldn't that make an awesome comic book idea?" He looked wistfully at his wall of comic art, "yeah, I could see something like that."

Ellie rolled her eyes knowing Jake's obsession with comics, "sure why not? Why don't you try writing one? Although I don't think the artists will appreciate trying to pencil and ink transforming robots, yikes! Can you imagine trying to draw all those parts?"

Jake chuckled in response, "yeah, I'd be totally hated but if it took off, I'd be rich."

"Ah, Jake, I don't think comic book writers hit it big like that."

"Who cares? It'd be fun finding out," he responded with a smirk. Jake was two years younger than Ellie and still cursed with a smattering of acne but all-in-all was a really nice guy. Just not 'the' guy more like a great little brother which she knew upset him as he'd tried asking her out several times.

"Well, lunch break is over I've gotta do my rounds, see ya!" Ellie said as she stood and walked over to her cart.

"Later Ellie!" several voices chorused.

- Earth Calendar Year 2009 - Post Shanghai Incident – NEST Facility, Island of Diego Garcia –

The Shanghai Operation debriefing with the JCS and Director Galloway had just completed as Optimus searched for Ratchet. The recent events weighed heavily on his processor and he needed to vocalize his concerns to his friend. Walking further back inside the hanger Optimus saw Ratchet leaning against a counter and waved him over, "Ratchet, do you have time available?"

The medic nodded, "I heard, the meeting didn't go as well as expected." Despite the size of the NEST hangar, it had amazing acoustics and combined with excellent Cybertronian audio arrays likely every bot on base knew what had happened.

Optimus nodded, "let's take a walk outside." The two Cybertronian officers strode past the elevated platform ignoring Director Galloway who apparently was bent on excoriating Major Lennox. Optimus nodded at the major sympathetically as he and Ratchet walked away.

The two mechanical beings strode along the roadway that abutted the runway in companionable silence until they reached the beach. They stood and watched the sun set as ocean waves crashed onto shore.

"How has work progressed on the communication and computer systems?" Optimus crossed his arms across his chassis as he continued to stare off into the horizon.

"Troublesome but it's working most times than not," Ratchet replied trying to be patient and allow the Prime to choose the direction of the conversation.

"Any news of note," the Prime asked still regarding the ocean, his frame however seemed slightly tense.

"Nothing new to report so now that that's out of the way spill, what's on your processor," Ratchet groused tired of waiting.

Optimus chuckled dryly, "always such a patient advisor. First, Director Galloway, is under the impression the reason the Decepticons are still here is because of us and has threatened to ask us to leave. Second, one of the Decepticons said something in Shanghai that is disturbing. He said, 'this is not your world to rule, the Fallen shall rise again'. Do you recall hearing of any bot with the designation or call-sign of the Fallen?"

Ratchet frowned, "the Fallen… hmmm, no I don't recall hearing anything. Maybe it's a reference to Megatron, perhaps Soundwave or StarScream figured out a way to revive him?"

"That makes unfortunate sense. However it's the reference itself that is bothering me, I think I may've heard it before but I just can't seem to remember."

"If Megatron has been revived that's bad enough, don't go borrowing trouble," Ratchet advised as he placed a servo on the Prime's arm.

"True," Optimus agreed. "Then there is the matter of the humans. If Director Galloway follows through with his threat I must honor their request but to abandon them to the mercy of the Decepticons is wrong. Somehow we must improve our relationship with the humans to prevent them from asking us to leave. I was thinking a human with political influence, like an ambassador, but the only one that I think would be appropriate is too young."

"You mean Sam?"

"Yes. Bumblebee says he's excited about going to college and 'living a normal life'. Do I mar his happiness by drawing him back into our war again?"

Ratchet shrugged, "Optimus, what sort of normal life or happiness will any human on this world have if we leave and the Decepticons don't? You know exactly what they'll do to this world. Whether Sam realizes it or not, but I think you knew that already didn't you. So the real problem is you don't expect him to accept and you're not sure what other options you have."

"Yes."

"Alright then, if not Sam, why not ask Mikaela? She's proven to be equally loyal. There's also Major Lennox and the former Defense Secretary John Keller?"

"All are excellent choices. I considered Mikaela, I believe she would make a fine ambassador but she would be exposed to intense media scrutiny and with her father recently released from prison I fear it would draw too much negative attention to her family. They need the time to heal. As to Major Lennox, he is a good officer but is already committed to serving his country. As such that would be considered a conflict of interest. The same situation applies to former Defense Secretary Keller, despite his recent retirement, he is too closely associated with the United States government that I doubt other nations would be able to separate the two. No, our ambassador must be a civilian and avoid any strong links to any particular government."

"So, that leaves us with Sam," Ratchet said with a shrug, "well, you'll never know for sure standing here, so go ask him he might say yes."

"That is true." Optimus grew silent again as the dusk faded into evening.

"Well, it's been awhile since you've had a chance to visit with Bee. Take some time and go, then you can find out what the boy says," Ratchet said as he rolled his shoulders to warm up his frame.

"True, let's return," Optimus answered. "I'll make arrangements to leave tomorrow."

Distant explosions lit the hillside as a bunker on the far side of the island was being attacked drawing their attention. As sirens blared Optimus quickly opened his comms, _'Autobots, the island is under attack…."_

— Nebraska, United States - Soundwave's Underground Bunker —

After abandoning orbit, Soundwave returned to his base to utilize his ever growing communications hub to review the data being sent to him from Ravage, "good work recovering the AllSpark shard Ravage. You're right there is a significant amount of energy within the shard…."

He paused when a signal pinged on his communication's board. The seeker unit commander RS175 was reporting a successful warp in-system and was asking for landing coordinates. He quickly acknowledged the hail and sent the coordinates.

Soundwave returned to reviewing the data on the shard when an emergency ping wailed from his monitor, Soundwave quickly opened the frequency, "go ahead RS175 Longflight."

"I've hit debris and don't have enough fuel to correct landing trajectory…."

"Debris? Isn't that what you have scanners for?"

Flyer responded dryly, "apparently my long range warp scanners have limits and I just hit one. My trajectory has been altered and I don't have enough fuel on board to correct. Here are my new landing coordinates. Out."

Soundwave glared at the monitor as his digits flew over the controls and pulled up another screen with various satellite displays and located one he could use to verify the shuttle's trajectory. On another screen he quickly compared landing data with that from the seeker and his own information. He cursed at having to deal with clumsy seekers as the probable landing site was far too close to the Autobot's scout in California. Gratefully the scout was a grounder which might give his team time to recover the shuttle.

- Tranquility, California –

The sound of Mikaela's motorcycle departing echoed off the garage floor as the remaining resident of the Witwicky abode sat parked fuming. Bumblebee's engine growled as he reviewed various maps of the college town Sam was heading towards. Sam may not believe he was in danger but Bee had far too much experience dealing with the Decepticons to believe his charge was truly safe. Sam's off-the-cuff comment suggesting it was Bee's presence that was keeping him from having a normal life was enough to make him blow a gasket. Sam was lucky to _be_ alive if it hadn't been for him. The boy didn't understand the Decepticons the way Bee did. Even with Megatron gone, Starscream escaped and that wily mech would never give up the war that easily.

And Bee would not give up either, despite the hiccup of discovering there would be no parking for him, since Sam waited until the last possible moment to mention freshmen weren't allowed cars. It wouldn't take the scout long to find several suitable locations to resume his duties.

"…I just want a normal life," rolled around Bee's processor as he selected a few promising locations while he rolled out of the garage and onto the street. Who didn't? Bee certainly wanted a normal life and if Sam had asked any Autobot he'd have gotten a similar answer. But it was insanity to delude himself into thinking he could avoid the war simply by saying so!

Bee barked a single word before his vocalizer fritzed again, "idiot."

Bumblebee pulled onto another street as he activated his full scanning array, primarily as standard procedure but it didn't hurt that it also allowed him to track the family car as well. As he maneuvered through evening traffic an alert pinged on his comms.

'_See,'_ Bee though furiously, '_not even an hour out and we've got Decepticons!'_

Bee's spark pulsed faster as the trace Decepticon signature was headed towards his location moving fast and descending from a high altitude. He cursed silently realizing the siguature indicated a seeker and he hoped it wasn't Starscream. Bumblebee quickly opened his comms, '_Bumblebee to NEST_.'

NEST Command responded quickly, "_go ahead Bumblebee_."

To speed up communications Bumblebee sent a text packet, _"picked up a Decepticon signal its weak, elevated I think it might be a seeker near my position. Sam and his family just left and are en route to Pennsylvania, I don't know if the Con is after them. Problem is at its present speed it'll reach the Witwicky's before me. Can you assist? Send me tracking data? Also inform Optimus. Out." _

Bee rolled down surface streets and headed for the freeway as he plotted the direction of the weak signal and for a moment missed having Sam with him. He knew he should be used to being alone but since befriending Sam, he found it hard to go back to the way it was before. Sometimes the teen was the perfect companion other times not so much but in the end despite the disparity of ages and races, they'd become good friends. There were moments between the two which made Bee glad of the young man's company and then there were times Bee could barely restrain himself from ejecting him and asking Optimus to relieve him of his duties.

He was glad Mikaela was at least safe as he rolled up the onramp and noted the heavy traffic. His engine growled deeply in frustration knowing with a heavy spark that there was no way he'd be able to reach Sam in time. As he wove his way through the slowing vehicles he tried to distract his processor from imagining the worst and focused instead on Mikaela.

When he arrived on Earth he'd done quite a bit of data gathering, searching for any information on the Decepticons or the AllSpark. He'd also spent time researching humanity which included understanding human interaction and physical appeal, it was a natural curiosity to compare one's race to another's as well as good intelligence gathering. Mikaela happened to fall into the category of humans who possessed a physical beauty that was overwhelming. She had admitted as much to him once, venting her frustration that it prevented people from viewing her beyond the physical. She was quite a talented mechanic but because of her appearance and gender she was easily dismissed. Once she'd voiced her concerns to Bumblebee he'd contacted Optimus. Optimus agreed with Bee's personal assessment and had made arrangements with NEST to employ her as a mechanic if she passed the appropriate testing. She was planning on following through once she was sure her father's business stabilized.

Like every major freeway at this time, Bumblebee was soon forced to roll to a stop and wait as he watched the Decepticon signal shoot past. His tension increased as it drew closer to the Witwicky's signal. He barely restrained his desire to transform and run alongside the meridian and focused on his scanners. He distantly noted the honking of a horn behind him as traffic started to move forward and watched the Decepticon signal close in and then fly past the marker of the Witwicky vehicle. Apparently the Decepticon wasn't interested in Sam.

Relieved, he continued to follow along traffic as he watched the Decepticon signal vanish from his sensors. An impatient call to NEST informed him they were monitoring the 'bogey.' Bee was ordered to follow the Witwicky's and insure they made it to Pennsylvania safely.

With a huff, he continued to roll along at the excessive speed of 2 miles per hour before he finally reached the connection to I15. Since the Witwicky's were faring no better Bumblebee was able to continue to follow them easily. After an hour he'd finally reached the heady speed of 45 miles per hour as the traffic changed from that of commuter to vacationers.

The lengthy drive, especially with no one to relieve the silence, had Bumblebee reminiscing about the direction his life was headed. He had to concede Sam's point, Bumblebee was an Autobot and not meant to be a babysitter and he would be of better use helping Optimus. However, he would not renege on his promise to guard Sam while he was able, hopefully he'd be able to do both.

Trying to shift his mind to merrier thoughts he decided to pull up the 'Things I Hate about Sam' list and chuckled. The title hadn't been his it was Mikaela's idea which came about one evening when Sam and Mikaela had a fight about him going to college out of state. Sam had gone off in a huff to 'cool off' abandoning both Bee and Mikaela. Instead of leaving, Mikaela hopped inside the Camaro and spent the rest of her evening talking to the scout, as much as his limited speech allowed. She vented her concerns about Sam going to college as well as sharing a mutual list of frustrations about the absent teen.

As far as Bee was concerned he couldn't see Sam with anyone else other than Mikaela. To Bee she epitomized the qualities of the femmes he'd fought beside on Cybertron. She was beautiful, bright, steadfast, and courageous. It frustrated him to watch them fight and despite Sam's reassurances this was normal human interaction, Bee wasn't entirely convinced. But then it wasn't like Bee had spent a great a deal of time around femmes recently to know for sure that had been a very long time ago.

A particularly mournful tune rolled across his radio as he thought about the femmes, specifically those within Elita 1's command unit. Elita and her team had chosen to remain on Cybertron instead of evacuating with the rest of the Autobot forces. Their separation had affected Prime's command team the hardest. The two units had fought along-side each other for vorns and not only because of their skill but also because of the personal relationship between the units, starting at the top. Optimus Prime and Elita 1 were the perfect fighting unit matched only by their devotion and love for each other. Had he not been made Prime, Bee was sure they would have bonded and stayed together. The forced separation had been Elita's decision. As long as the Decepticons knew how much she meant to the Prime, she would be a target and she refused to compromise him in that way.

Because of Bee's age and size, his involvement with her unit was based on Optimus's desire to prepare him adequately to survive the war. Optimus felt that the femmes faced similar obstacles and would be able to provide him additional skills the mechs in his unit might not be able to bestow. As a result he'd grown quite close to all of them in different ways. He thought of Chromia, Ironhide's bonded femme, with a chuckle knowing that a great deal of his weapon's skills came from her tutelage despite Ironhide's insistence to the contrary. Firestar had taught him basic field repairs and was the more maternal of the group but definitely very feisty which explained why she was bonded to the Wrecker Inferno. Greenlight and Lancer had helped him with his hacking and technical skills but were far too… scientific for his tastes, although they were very kind to him. Moonracer had taught him a great deal about sniping and covert maneuvers as well as occasionally getting him into trouble when she had a mind to prank, she was the mischievous one of the unit. His spark pulsed a little more as he located the images he'd saved because he had had quite a crush on her. Arcee was a gentle femme whose light pink frame led many to mistake her as weak. A mistake she gladly took advantage of with her strength and hand-to-hand training which had served him well. Flareup, youthful like him had quite a taste for explosives which was rather frightening at times having narrowly escaped some of her more 'creative' blends. He'd always wondered what would happen if she were ever paired with Wheeljack.

'_I need to stop thinking about the past,_' Bee muttered as he quickly changed the music and commed NEST for an update. '_NEST, this is Bee, are you still tracking the Decepticon?'_

NEST responded quickly, _'negative, telemetry indicates the bogey may have crashed. We've got units headed to the site.'_

_:'Crashed? Odd. Do you want backup?'_

_:'One moment.'_

Bee was grateful for the distraction surprised that he'd even thought of the femmes at a time like this and wrote it off as Sam's hormones brushing off on him. Perhaps spending time on Diego Garcia with some one-on-one training with Ironhide would definitely knock some sense into his processor.

:'_Bumblebee, Optimus wants you to detour to the site and scan the wreckage. NEST will transport you to New Jersey for transfer to Diego Garcia.'_

:'_Will do, Bee out.' _Bumblebee continued on to the I15 and drove as fast as he could while avoiding police attention. Someday he hoped Optimus would be able to formalize a working relationship with the various governmental agencies to allow them to move about faster in emergency situations.

- Chicago, Illinois: Accuretta Systems Aerospace Division, Tracking Center -

"Oh wow," exclaimed one of the younger interns in surprise, "I've got one! I've gotta bogey! It just popped outta nowhere and it took out an old satellite!"

An older gentleman with a smattering of grey at the temples quickly approached the excited intern and placed a calming hand on his shoulder, his expression clearly an admonishment for the lack of decorum, "Scott, I can appreciate your enthusiasm but such outbursts disturb the others. Just focus on following the procedures outlined."

When the youth continued to stare at him owlishly, the supervisor sighed and pointed at the side bar on the computer screen, "the procedures are right here. When you pick up any readings you begin the process by keying in the appropriate code from this list." The intern quickly looked at the screen and nodded as he entered a code.

Frank nodded, "good. Just like training when you note an anomaly log the incident. The program will prompt you through the process, just answer the questions. Once it's complete, it will automatically notify either me or my staff so we can review your findings. Do you understand?"

The young man pushed up his glasses contritely, "yes sir. I'm sorry, I was just surprised, Mr. Jenkins."

"I understand. Scott, please look at incident field, you haven't recorded when and where the object appeared." The youth shook his head in frustration and began to type frantically. Once he entered the information into the field he clicked the continue box and a different query popped up. The intern looked at the screen and then back at the supervisor nonverbally asking if it was alright to continue.

Again Frank nodded, "as you can see once you complete data fields the system will prompt you with the next until the process is complete. In this instance you need to run a compositional analysis, always accept the prompt." Scott quickly clicked the appropriate box and waited for the completed analysis. Sweat beaded on the intern's forehead and he blinked with relief when the computer quickly displayed data on the screen.

An unusual code scrolled up making Scott gulp and then he pointed questioningly at the list, "sir, this code isn't on the list."

Frank blinked as he tried to maintain a calm expression although his heart started to race, "that's alright it's one of our supervisor codes. Just continue and finish entering the data." The youth pushed his glasses up his nose again and continued entering the appropriate information.

"See how simple this really is? The next field has prompted you to run an extrapolation program to estimate probable landing sites. Will you go ahead and finish that please?" Frank watched as the intern finished running through the submission process as patiently as possible. When the screen returned to normal scanning mode both supervisor and intern sighed in relief.

"Good work Scott. Just remember, enthusiasm is appreciated but be more professional about it next time, alright?"

"Yes sir," Scott watched with relief as the floor supervisor walked away. He leaned back in his chair and sighed heavily until he noticed his colleague Kelly regarding him over his monitor. Scott shook his head warningly.

Undeterred the youth hissed, "man you're so lucky they didn't boot your…." Kelly stopped abruptly, his eyes wide in fear, as another floor supervisor rapped him sharply on the head with a datapad to be silent.

Without comment both interns quickly looked back at their monitors and focused intently on their tasks as they waited for the supervisor to leave. Soon the interns were left alone grateful that was the only discipline they were going to receive. As the hours drifted by, excitement from the earlier discovery faded as their mind-numbingly dull task of tracking duty droned on.

Frank walked over to the supervisor's station and sat down to call up the data Scott had submitted. He reviewed the details and then picked up the phone and punched a red button on the speed dial list, "This is Jenkins, Tracking Center. Please inform Mr. Gould I'm sending urgent data for his review. Thank you."

As the supervisor disconnected the call he covertly scanned the room to see if he was being watched. When he was sure it was safe, he quickly punched in a series of numbers and waited. He looked down grateful no one could see his hand tremble as the call was answered. He took a shaky breath and said softly, "free for dinner?"

As he waited for a response he tapped on the receiver a few times and paused, "great. Pick you up at 7:30?"

Again he waited for a response and again tapped on the receiver, "good, see you then." He quickly hung up the phone and grabbed a tissue from a box on the desktop. With another furtive look around he wiped the sweat off his forehead, took several calming breaths, stood and tossed the dampened tissue into the trash to resume his duties.

- Nebraska - Soundwave's Bunker –

"Soundwave," Ravage requested as he waited off-shore of Diego Garcia, "how do you wish me to proceed?"

Soundwave pulled up the screen he was using to monitor the seeker's position and pondered if the altered course would make it possible to pick up Ravage. While he considered options the seeker commed him again on the emergency channel, '_not enough fuel to slow landing, ejecting….'_ The signal stopped mid-sentence.

Given the abrupt ending of message Soundwave presumed the shuttle had crashed. If that were the case he was sure the medic would be incapable of repairing Megatron until he himself was repaired, if he survived. Soundwave vented and then quickly opened a channel to one of his human agents since he had no Decepticons close by, "locate crashed unit, contact immediately upon arrival. Sending coordinates now."

He expanded the screen showing all Decepticon activity on the planet. One unit was hidden on a cargo freighter drawing close to the Laurentian Abyss. They had been loaded aboard to avoid raising any alerts with the human military monitoring the area until it was too late to stop them. Soundwave's original plan was for the unit to retrieve Megatron's body and bring it back to base for the captured medic to revive him, if possible. Similar to the shuttle problem, there was no flight capable close enough to retrieve Ravage. Soundwave would have to handle that assignment himself.

Soundwave was not discouraged by the probable loss of the medic, however, given the unique energy readings from the AllSpark. He hoped there might be enough to revive Megatron without a surgeon. Either way speed was of the utmost importance so he quickly commanded Scalpel, the current Decepticon field medic to him. As Soundwave waited for the medic to arrive he commed his mini-con again, "Ravage, I will rendezvous to your location with Scalpel. Hold your position."

"Understood."

Within moments a tiny spider-like Decepticon ambled into the command bunker, "you summoned me, _ja_?"

"You will use a shard of the AllSpark and attempt to revive Megatron with it. If the shard does not work, you will accompany the recovery team back to base and commence repairs. Prepare for transport," Soundwave ordered. The spider-bot complied quickly transformed into a small microscope which the tall silvery mech picked up and then placed within his mini-con hold. Making a few passes over his comm. station Soundwave quickly transferred the system's messages to ping him en route. Once that task was complete he strode out of the bunker.

- North Las Vegas, Nevada, early evening —

"Yes, understood. Yes. I just said I understood. Yes, I _know_ what's at stake," a slender man in a military uniform grouched in increasingly annoyed tones as he touched the screen to end the call. He missed the days when he could slam the receiver in its cradle which was significantly more satisfying. Instead he took several calming breaths before he slid his finger across the screen to activate another number and waited for the line to connect, "general. Strongman. Confirm."

"Confirmed," General Hanson hung up the phone and walked out of his office to his secretary's desk. The woman looked up when he placed his hand on the edge of her desk, "Carrie, would you activate Silver Op please? Thanks."

The general watched as she stood and said briskly, "yes sir." She bent over to retrieve a key from a secret compartment in her desk and then walked over to a secured filing cabinet. Once he was assured his order was being carried out he returned to his office and closed the door.

Carrie shook her head and huffed both in amusement and patience as she unlocked the padlock and pulled it out of the loop. It took a few moments to extract the long bar that secured the drawers from being opened and set it aside as she opened the top drawer. Within moments she'd located a sealed manila envelope labeled 'Silver Op' and set that on top of the cabinet. Then she closed the drawer, reinserted the bar back into its slotted mountings and with a metallic click snapped the lock shut. She picked up the folder and returned to her desk opening the envelope as she walked. She pulled the contents out and reviewed the list on top as she sat.

Carrie was used to working for eccentric bosses and this general was no exception. She was _the_ only secretary on the planet, she'd frequently told her friends over drinks, that actually had to use a _manual_ typewriter. As far as the civilian secretarial staffers were concerned it was borderline medieval the way he asked Carrie to do her job. But, generals were generals and if that was how he wanted his operation run, then Carrie would run it that way. If that meant no carbon paper, if there was any of that around anymore, no electric typewriters, no photocopies, no computer entry, just old, old, _old_ school hard paper documentation, then that's how she'd do her job. She had her retirement to consider and as long as her boss was happy, she remained employed. Although, she should probably advise the general that the padlocked and steel-barred filing cabinet could easily be cut, but why ruin the old man's day.

Looking at the activation list she quickly dialed the first phone number. As she looked through the attached document which contained a list of supplies needed including requisitions for weapons and vehicles, all part of a typical old-school training deployment mission. At least that was what the general told her when she was first interviewed for the secretarial position. There was a lot to do and if she wanted to get off at 6 to meet her friends at their usual haunt she'd best hurry.

- Longflight's Downward Spiral, Nevada Desert, Recap -

Tumbler screamed as he fell, swearing if he survived this he'd make sure that shuttle precious or not, would suffer. Really suffer. Tumbler didn't see the warp distortion that swallowed up the shuttle as he was too busy cursing the ground that was rushing up to greet him. Nor did he see the small black seeker's wings flare as she struggled to decrease speed despite the additional weight of a full-sized mech clutching her.

Tumbler hit the ground hard sending a puff of dust high into the air. Duststorm was able to slow their descent but not enough to prevent them from likewise, ending up like Tumbler. Tumbler's survival was far from the processor of either bot as Duststorm and FirstAid hit, barely surviving as their systems forced them into medical stasis.

Several miles away from the three inert Cybertronian's bodies a faint dust cloud which could barely be seen in the fading light. A military caravan approached as it bounced along a dusty road as they hurried towards the crash site.

- North Las Vegas, Nevada – Silver Op – Evening Military Training Exercise —

As soon as the caravan arrived at the impact site personnel quickly disembarked and with precision set about their tasks. Lights were quickly employed as an officer walked up to the smoking debris to examine the wreckage and then turned back to the crew issuing orders. Airmen with saws quickly attacked the largest of the debris to make it easier to move.

The 'cargo' was to be distributed between four large, covered military transports. One airman had been walking around the site with a small box and then dashed over to give the senior officer the radiation readings. The roar of saws cutting through metal made conversation impossible and so most communication was made by hand gestures.

As far as the Air Force was concerned Silver Op was a normal evening rescue training exercise. However, this unit was manned by a carefully selected team of individuals who knew exactly what they were dealing with. Secrecy and speed was a priority because they weren't the only beings on this planet who would be interested in these latest newcomers. They had to get their cargo away before the _others_ arrived.

The senior officer shouted at his men urging them to hurry as he checked his watch, time was short. Not only were they competing against other human and alien agencies, they needed to avoid satellite surveillance. It was luck which caused the crash to happen so close to one of their mobilizing sites.

One of four large covered trucks pulled up close to one of the impact sites as an airman extracted a cable and pulled it over and attached it to a large red and white metallic body. He quickly enabled the winch and started the process of loading the large body. Two others pulled alongside as the same process was repeated with the two remaining metallic bodies. Once the vehicle was loaded it immediately left the site with a small contingent of men. The last cargo truck was piled with any technology left of value and quickly loaded. In less than thirty minutes they were gone.

—◊◊—◊◊—◊◊—

Soundwave dropped down in altitude, "Ravage, Scalpel, prepare for drop. You have your orders. Dropping now…." Soundwave passed silently over the freighter allowing Ravage and Scalpel to hit the freighter's deck.

Ravage commed Soundwave as the mech flew back to Nebraska, "aboard, proceeding as planned."

- Autobot Frigate _Varion_ –

Prowl sat in his quarters and waited until he'd managed to collect his thoughts after the news that his good friend Jazz was gone. When he was sure he had full control he rose and strode back onto the bridge. Blaster was muttering at comms station while he frantically tried to sort the increased communication traffic the change in orders had caused.

With a virulent string of words Blaster closed Perceptor's message. Perceptor true to his word had sent the data informing of the situation on Deca to Autobot command prior to heading off to the life center. Prowl angled his helm as he waited for the operations officer to clarify his behavior.

Blaster turned in his chair to face Prowl, "aw man, ah'm sorry ah missed this boss. Decepticons captured one of our medics. What went down was this; Ultra Magnus' unit was hangin' out on _Metroplex _'cause Sky Lynx was injured and needed medical attention from the CMO an Autobot designated FirstAid. The Council, ah didn't know those (! #$) were still alive, anyways they ordered 'em to rescue a neutral base bein' attacked by Decepticons. The Decepticons snatched the CMO. Magnus sent the warp signature coordinates cause they can't pursue. What ah don't understand is why the Decepticons would go through so much trouble to grab a medic." Blaster turned in his seat, "it's not like they don't have medics of their own right?"

Prowl nodded and rubbed his helm, "anything in the chatter?"

"Sorry boss, ah still haven't been able ta break the newest Con code," answered Blaster.

Prowl stepped down from the command chair and walked over to his regular station and muttered thoughtfully, "why now?" He canted his helm slightly as he pulled up data and then pushed it up onto the main view screen.

"Blaster, send me Decepticon deployment data starting from Prime's arrival on Earth and prior to his orders to mobilize," Prowl waited as Blaster quickly compiled the information and sent it to Prowl's station. The First quickly expanded the field overlapping the Decepticon data that focused on the connection between the Sol System and Deca as Blaster watched. Blaster shook his helm in frustration as he rose from his chair and walked over to stand behind Prowl, "ah still don't see what's running around in your processor. Isn't the Sol System where Prime's at?"

"It is," Prowl nodded. Then he stepped away from his station to regard the layout, "here's what we think we know, Megatron and the AllSpark are gone and an Autobot surgeon has been taken. We could try to extrapolate possible warp coordinates but I think that would be a waste of time."

Prowl crossed his arms across his chassis as a door-wing flicked, "so, back to what we do know. Starscream has never considered the Sol system as valuable territory, until now. The recent deployment does not appear to be in reaction to ours which suggests there's something else of importance on Earth. Based on his previous activities, this deployment is far too large if this were a resource engagement. Something big must be going on to force Starscream to react like this."

"Now, my theory," Prowl said as he regarded the bot beside him. "Given how many times Megatron has eluded death let's assume he did survive. Starscream doesn't fear many bots, but he does fear Megatron which would explain the adjustment in troops. Optimus believed Megatron was off-lined, but perhaps he was only severely damaged which would explain the need for a medic. But, you are correct, the Decepticons do possess medics. So, at this point I can't fathom any other reason for the Decepticons to go to such extremes unless there was something more involved. What we know about FirstAid?"

"Gimme a quarter-breem," Blaster said as he dashed back to his station his digits flying over the keyboard. "FirstAid is a surgeon and pacifist, part of the combiner unit called the Protectobots, they form Defensor. Autobot Military Records show Prime ordered the Protectobots to evacuate Cybertron early on in the war. They were ordered to board _Metroplex_ during the first wave of evacuations but the _Council_ rejected the team except for FirstAid. As to the bot himself, his credentials are extensive. He started out as a nurse and worked his way up. He even trained under Ratchet which means he must be a quality surgeon to have survived workin' under that bot, 'cause Ratchet don't suffer fools. And that's all ah've got."

Prowl frowned, "I see. Any news on the rest of the Protectobots? Are they still on-line?"

"Yep, they're hanging out with a bunch of our guys stranded on a neutral planet, near Proxima. Been lookin' for a ride and layin' low. Whaddya thinkin'?"

"Theories at the moment. Let's inform Prime, open a channel."

Blaster nodded and quickly opened a secure frequency and waited. "Got him," he finally announced.

"Open bridge comms Blaster," Prowl ordered and waited for a nod from Blaster to go ahead. "Optimus, this is Prowl."

"Go ahead," came the staticy response.

"New intelligence you should be made aware of. Decepticons appear to be mobilizing to your location and it does not appear to be in reaction to ours. Also, something odd to report, an Autobot medic was taken by the Decepticons, a Protectobot surgeon designated FirstAid."

"FirstAid," the Prime questioned calmly.

"Yes sir, FirstAid's a Protectobot who was listed as the current CMO of _The Metroplex,_ a Council ship with neutral status. Nothing from Decepticon chatter says why they'd need a medic."

"All medics are important," Optimus countered with a sigh. "I remember him, I believe he trained under Ratchet. Thank you for informing me. I'm not certain if this move relates to our situation here but I will check to see if we've noted any unusual activity. Also, Prowl, the following units have arrived, Sideswipe, Skids and Mudflap. Sideswipe is requesting information on his brother Sunstreaker. Any news?"

Prowl looked over at Blaster who quickly checked his troop deployment database and then shook his helm. Prowl nodded, "no sir."

"I see, I'll let him know and Prowl? Thank you, keep me posted. Prime Out."

- NEST Base, Island of Diego Garcia –

Optimus sighed after he completed his comm with Prowl as he watched Sideswipe race around the tarmac burning off his frustration. Sideswipe and his twin brother Sunstreaker had been separated for some time which was weighing heavily on the young mech's processor. The Prime was saddened that he could not offer Sideswipe any new information so he allowed the mech's racing because it was far more preferable than the alternative, which was pranking. And at the moment, Optimus wasn't of the processor to deal with the fallout from that.

Ironhide ambled out of the hangar and joined Optimus on the tarmac as they watched the Sideswipe take a squealing turn and then raced back down the runway, "a high grade for your thoughts?"

Optimus looked at his friend and smiled, "just one?" Then Optimus tipped his helm back to the hangar as a small human barreled out shouting his name and groaned, "the day just keeps getting better and better."

Ironhide grinned, "want me to do some pest control?"

"No," the Prime said cryptically which made Ironhide pause, was the Prime frustrated at having to deal with the human or that he wouldn't let Ironhide take him out? Instead Ironhide merely crossed his arms over his dark chassis and waited for the human named Galloway, the United States' National Security Advisor to storm over, trailed by his aid, and an overwhelmed Major Lennox.

"Ironhide," Optimus added, "would you let Sideswipe know that Prowl doesn't have any news on Sunstreaker. Also, advise Ratchet a Protectobot named FirstAid has been kidnapped by Decepticons. I'd like to cross-reference activities and see if we can figure out why they took him and where he might be held."

"You sure you want me to go?"

Optimus regarded his friend for a moment thoughtfully, "Galloway pushes even my buttons, so I can't afford to have an incident should you decide to squash him to shut him up."

"Prime," Ironhide gaped in mock offense used to Prime's dry sense of humor as the humans arrived. "You know I'd never squash a human." The black mech looked down and grinned, "it'd rust my pedes." He turned to Optimus and nodded to indicate he was leaving, "Optimus."

Major Lennox's eyes opened wide as he stared at his mechanical friend and mouthed, "are you crazy?! Don't piss that guy off!" Ironhide just grinned and shrugged as he headed off towards the tarmac to stop the silver corvette as it raced.

"Gentlemen," Optimus nodded congenially, "how may I help you today?"

"The shard was stolen last night and where were your people?! Do you know how many men we lost? The President is holding you responsible…"

"Director Galloway, I am truly sorry for the loss of life…"

Director Galloway interrupted snorting in anger, "truly sorry?! That's not going to do…"

"Director," Optimus interrupted as he lowered himself down to his knee to draw closer to the aggravated human. "The loss of life does grieve me but the choice of allowing you to store the shard was your President's decision, not mine. He was thoroughly briefed as to what would happen should the Decepticons learn of its existence and your President accepted full responsibility. I have told you before, this is your world and I respect the choices you make. But, I cannot be held responsible when your decisions are the wrong ones. Good day, director." Optimus rose to his pedes and regally strode into the hangar quickly ending the conversation.

A/N Hopefully there are no errors, but if you find them, let me know and I'll correct them. Thank you for reading!


	4. Earth - Part 2

Legal Stuff: Transformers, et al., are not mine, only my OCs. This story isn't intended for sale.

A/N #1: Special thanks to CRAZYCOLORS098 thank you for reading!

A/N #2: In this chapter I've used the G1 character Skids who is not the Twin Skids. Why? I've been reading the original Marvel Comics and found a story with him in it I thought was charming. Check him out on . Thanks!

Cybertronian/Earth Time Reference:

Breem / about 8 minutes

Groon/about 1 Earth hour

Orn/about 1 Earth day

Orbital Cycle/about 1 Earth year

Vorn/about 83 Earth years

Chapter 3 – Earth Campaign (Part 2)

- Nebraska, Soundwave's Bunker –

Soundwave waited with the quiet patience of a spider, the only display of tension was an extra tap of his digit on the control board as he waited for two reports, one from Megatron's recovery team and the other the shuttle recovery team.

A comm signal pinged for attention as Soundwave's slender digit pressed the receive command. Scalpel's ecstatic voice warbled over the connection, "vee have success! Megatron lives! Megatron lives!"

Soundwave's only visible sign of acknowledgement was a slight dip of his helm, "good work, out." With deft fingers he switched to a private frequency that had until moments ago been silent, _'all hail Megatron! I am at your service, master.'_

:_'Soundwave,' _Megatron's rasped over the comms. _'It is good to hear your voice. Maintain your presence on this defiled rock of a world. I will return after I have spoken with the Fallen.'_

:_'Understood,'_ Soundwave closed the channel and opened another comm. "StarScream, Shockwave, our master lives and is returning to Cybertron to speak with the Fallen. Remain on standby for further orders. Out."

As soon as those tasks were complete he activated the flyers assigned to retrieve Ravage and the unit that had revived Megatron. He didn't bother to wait for the information on the shuttle as far as he was concerned the shuttle deserved to pay the ultimate cost for failure as he strode out of the bunker to join the unit in recovering Ravage and Scalpel.

- North Las Vegas, Nevada –

Two black helicopters descended quickly near the crash site and were soon joined by three black SUVs once shiny but now covered in a thick coating of dust caused from racing across the open desert. Two men in suits exited one of the SUVs and walked up to the debris and examined the remains. He knelt beside a set of large tire tracks, "looks like someone beat us to it."

"That's just great. He's not going to like hearing this," the other said as he tapped the radio in his ear. "This is Davis. We're too late. Someone beat us to the site. Can you run any scans? Satellite surveillance? Anything? We need to know who got here first and where they went or heads will roll."

The rest of the humans in the SUV recovery units jumped out and back from their vehicles as they watched them warily transform. The SUVs were large Decepticon warriors the humans referred to as 'the Dreads' because of the unique helm array which resembled dreadlocks. The warriors themselves did not take offense finding the double meaning amusing. They even went so far as to choose new designations for themselves based on a children's cereal, the irony quite fitting.

One of the Dreads nicknamed Snap knelt near the smaller impact crater began to examine it as another nicknamed Pop studied the larger crater. After a few moments of examination Pop stood and made one circuit around the indentation before reporting his findings, "there are signs of human activity. Deeper tire tracks indicate both ground transport and a heavy load so we have to assume they've recovered the cargo. The impact craters are too small to indicate the shuttle itself hit perhaps he dumped the passengers and cargo?"

"Seekers are such weak cowards," the third Dread called 'Crackle' sneered. "He probably warped out to save his aft. Let's thoroughly search the area. Soundwave will want to know what the humans found and where they moved it to."

Snap stood and bolted down the road on all four pedes to follow the tire tracks while scanning for any trace Cybertronian signatures. Pop turned and strode in the other direction making slow sweeps while Crackle continued taking readings of the impact site itself. One of the human agents watched with a huff as his ride galloped away and rolled his eyes as he rejoined the others. Maybe there would be room in the helicopters or with the remaining Dreads, unless they abandoned them too.

The human's fears proved all too accurate as the last of the Dreads dashed off. Davis shrugged at his fellows, "I don't know what's going on, so don't look at me. We'll just have to squeeze into the choppers and let _him_ handle things from here on out. Let's move before the next satellite is overhead."

Within moments the site was again abandoned as the two helicopters rose into the air and headed off towards Arizona.

— Nebraska, Soundwave's Bunker—

Pleased with a successful retrieval of his unit despite the human military's feeble attempts at stopping them, Soundwave returned to his base after depositing the ground units in Africa. When he strode into his communications hub he noted a message from the shuttle retrieval team and frowned at its contents as his monitor pinged again.

His moon base listening outpost discovered a Decepticon shuttle and was retrieving it. Soundwave commed the base and informed them he wished the commander contact him once the shuttle was recovered. As he waited for the signal he reviewed the progress of other team, it did not take long for the outpost commander to respond.

"Sir, we've retrieved the shuttle."

Soundwave responded tersely, "is RS175 functional?"

Longflight picked up the comms and answered, "yes sir, this is RS175 Commander Longflight."

"I require an explanation as to why you are there and your cargo is not."

"Sir. Earth's orbit contained a debris field with objects too small for my long-range scanners to register. I will inform command and get that corrected. The cargo compliment was the Autobot medic FirstAid and the Decepticon commander from Deca Tumbler. Once I determined I would be unable to make a safe landing and any warp calculations would unlikely to engage in time. Dropping cargo would increase their chances of survival if I used my engine thrusters plus the resulting explosion of impact to create enough of a concussion to slow their descent. Did they survive sir?"

"Unknown," Soundwave's monotone dropped even lower. "Your failure has been noted. Since I have other pressing matters and you are part of StarScream's command, I shall let him mete out punishment. Until then, you are ordered to remain where you are until he arrives to retrieve you. Soundwave. Out."

Soundwave promptly closed the comm as the targeted the satellite arrays on another screen were drawing close to the impact site. Several had passed without showing anything informative and a few were others pending. His digits flew across his keyboard as he retrieved information. Another satellite slowly passed over the site as he accessed the feed. Grainy data showed the arrival of several military vehicles followed by a Camaro.

"Well, even the Autobots were caught unprepared." The spymaster tapped his chest and activated another of his mini-cons, "it seems our little organic pests are active again, Buzzsaw." The newly summoned bird-like mini-con bowed his red optics to acknowledge his master.

"Locate the Dreads and track what they have been following. Your sensors are more sensitive. Contact me when you have any useful information."

The mini-con bowed his helm again, "yes master."

Soundwave watched the bot leave and then returned to his station activating separate data files. He was well aware there were humans within his network that were actively fighting against him, who they were and how they communicated with one another. Since his methods by necessity were harsh he expected pushback in some form or another. As a result he carefully managed his networks, organic or Cybertronian, ally or foe. No matter with whom he worked or manipulated, he applied judicious control. Sometimes in the form of public or private reprimand or execution or in allowing some of the more factious ones to exist while he observed their activities covertly. Regardless, Soundwave viewed the humans as no real threat, more of an amusement to pass the time.

He scanned data files on several different human insurgent sites to discern which might feasibly house large Cybertronian components or a full-sized Cybertronian. He moved the site surveillance feeds to the top of his stack to view. With a gentle roll of his helm to unkink wiring he eased back in his seat relaxed because he knew with certainty he'd find the locations soon. This acquisition of large technology was an aggressive action for the humans which indicated to him they were terrified of being defeated. Hence they probably assumed their only hope lay in locating Cybertronian bodies to try to exploit any weaknesses. Emotional responses like these were always precipitated by mistakes and would soon provide him with several valuable pieces of information. Where the storage sites were, what they were working on, and whether or not their 'find' was still on-line. All handed to him without having to expend any effort at all. Soundwave huffed slightly as he rubbed Ravage's helm, "hardly a challenge."

Ravage looked up at the screen and then back at his superior, "master?"

The spymaster looked down at his mini-con, "the humans pose no challenge for me. Their actions are so tediously predictable I fear I may make a mistake out of boredom. Even StarScream's schemes present interesting challenges. These humans present none at all."

Ravage nodded, whether in sympathy or understanding, it didn't matter to Soundwave as he regarded the screens and watched the various surveillance feeds.

"And that is where I need to take care. They are not unintelligent, simply technologically inferior. Even the advancements I've provided have produced hardly anything useful."

"Not surprising," Ravage answered calmly, "even the Autobots are unable to combat you."

"True," Soundwave said pragmatically, "but at least they have surprised me from time to time."

"Perhaps leaving Earth for a bit might help? We could explore or do research of our own?" The mini-con tilted his helm as he regarded his master.

"No, as much as leaving would be amusing, Megatron's more vengeful side requires us to remain, so we shall." The silvery mechanoid chuckled, "ahhhh, excellent."

Ravage placed his paws on the console and regarded two screens showing activity as two large vehicles disgorged badly damaged Cybertronian bodies. A flash of a Decepticon shield on one caused Ravage to whine in concern while another flashed an Autobot shield.

"Well, well, well," Soundwave hummed thoughtfully, "that must be the Commander from Deca, I believe Longflight identified him as Tumbler. But the physiology looks more femme than mech. Very interesting, I believe the shuttle has lied to us."

"Shall we plan an extraction?"

"No," Soundwave said as he leaned forward, "there was a reason the shuttle desired to keep this information secret. Let him suffer that mistake while these humans work on her. This site was working on two of my projects. One was responsive armor, the other a biological weapon."

"I do not understand, I thought these were the rebels. Is it wise to allow them to continue such work," Ravage asked.

"They are," Soundwave answered cryptically as he pulled up a second monitor as a large Cybertronian body parts were being extracted at a secondary site. He hummed thoughtfully as he leaned forward to review the two surveillance feeds simultaneously. "My reasoning is confirm, it appears there were three Cybertronians aboard the shuttle."

"Doesn't look like that one survived," Ravage supplied as he regarded the humans pulling a limb into their bunker.

"Possible," Soundwave agreed. "These feeds do not provide enough resolution to determine survival. Either way perhaps the humans believe intact forms will provide additional information."

"Which would be," Ravage encouraged. It was rare when Soundwave chose to speak and the mini-con, a natural information gatherer could not resist even if it was his own handler. Soundwave regarded the mini-con and chuckled approvingly.

"If they are successful in creating interactive armor that would be a boon for our forces. I could supply Megatron with a human-ally force to use against the Autobots. It would be an excellent weapon to throw at the Prime since he refuses to allow the humans to be harmed. As to the biological weapons program, any weapon they create we can use to take out the Autobots. Either will help make winning this war faster. We have expended far too many resources on war we could have used it in repairing Cybertron."

"What's the point," Ravage pointed out logically. "With the AllSpark gone, Cybertron is dead."

"You have not had the opportunity to examine the shard after your return. It still possesses a significant amount of AllSpark energy. I assumed Megatron's revival would drain it but it is still viable. Perhaps rebuilding the AllSpark is possible."

Ravage shook his helm and sat on his haunches in frustration, "master, these are puzzles beyond my processor."

Instead of speaking Soundwave merely rubbed the mini-con's helm and opened his hold. The mini-con quickly transformed and was placed in the cache space assigned to him. Soundwave returned to viewing the screens, it was pointless to discuss what was unknown.

Soundwave drummed his digits on the comm's control board as he waited for his next comm to connect, "StarScream, this is Soundwave. Your Shuttle Commander RS175 has been recovered. He failed in his mission, he ejected the cargo to save his life and placing the medic into the human's hands. Punish him however you see fit. What is your status?"

"Cybertron," StarScream snarled, "right now _he_ is demanding attention."

"_He_? Do you speak of Megatron?" Soundwave asked tiredly, StarScream's mental gyrations were sometimes far too unpredictable for the ops officer to want to bother trying to discern.

"You know, _HIM!_"

As if that explained everything Soundwave reached up and touched his forehelm, deep in thought as he tried to puzzle who "him" was and then he looked up in annoyance, "oh, I understand. Fine. When Megatron arrives, please advise."

"Whatever," the line cut abruptly.

Soundwave assumed StarScream was referring to the Fallen, a badly injured mech that claimed to be one of the original 13 Primes. The Fallen had been discovered on Cybertron late in the war and had used his lineage to entice Megatron into being mentored by him. The feeble mech had even gone so far as to attempt to ursurp command once but Soundwave curtailed that effort easily. Thus far, the ancient mech had not discerned Soundwave's interference but should he do so Soundwave was not worried. As far as Megatron was concerned, Soundwave's loyalty was unquestionable and so it would remain and he would make sure it stayed that way.

A quick text pinged on his monitor as Buzzsaw triangulated with the Dreads as Soundwave opened comms to summon them back to base.

- North Las Vegas Desert, Impact Site –

NEST helicopters quickly descended on the site, their satellite surveillance already indicating most of the debris had been removed. They would still examine the site to see if they could glean any information possible.

A yellow Camaro drove up slowly, the muscle car bounced roughly on the uneven desert floor and transformed. Bee looked around and huffed as he placed his servos on his hips. A camouflaged airman strode up to him, "glad you could make it sir."

Bumblebee nodded as he strode around the circumference of the site shaking his helm confirming the site had been thoroughly combed over. What was left was not worth salvaging. He wandered further out in widening circles his scanners and systems fully employed and stopped when he was about mile out from the site. He reached up and tapped his helm activating a newly established Autobot frequency the humans weren't aware of and sent a data comm, "_Bee to Base._"

:_'Base,_ _this is Ratchet go ahead Bee, what'd you find?'_

_:'Nada. The place has been thoroughly picked clean. I've picked up human and Decepticon activity but nothing more. The Decepticons did a good job wiping the site 'cause I can't find a trail or leads. Do you want me to continue?'_

Bumblebee waited patiently knowing Ratchet was informing Optimus and waiting for a response. Until one was forthcoming the mech slowly strode back to the helicopters, the men having already performed as many scans as they could were waiting patiently for the scout to return.

:'_Bee, this is Optimus. Cease operations and take NEST transport to the New Jersey NEST base, we'll meet you there. Prime Out.'_

Bumblebee reached the men and knelt and quickly sorted through a list of phrases when one of the NEST pilots waved an officer over. Bee adjusted his sensitive audios which confirmed NEST had just sent similar orders. One young female airman dashed over, "sir, we've been ordered to back. You're to head over to Nellis where a will take you onto Jersey. Good working with you sir!"

Bee nodded and saluted the woman and watched as the two copters quickly took to the sky. He waited for a few moments and stood overlooking the impact site and as he took a few more scans before striding off towards the military base. He knew using his robot mode wasn't approved and frankly he didn't care. Deserts were no place for Camaros to unless paved and he was already suffering several minor injuries thanks to the uneven surface.

- New Iacon, City Center, Deca —

Ultra Magnus walked around the quiet square as the remaining Wreckers joined up, the last of the Decepticon resistance finally eliminated. With a silent nod and wave of his arm, the Wreckers fanned out checking bodies and recovering any wounded civilians. Those who'd sought refuge within the City Center had returned to help assist moving the wounded to the Life Center where a frantic Perceptor was trying to treat as many as he could.

The femmes and young who'd escaped Tumbler's attentions met up with the headman Quickdrill who listened sympathetically to a weeping femme as she described what had been done and how they managed to still be alive.

Ultra Magnus partially listened to the conversation as he monitored comms. Detailed reports had already gone out to Autobot command notifying them of the situation. The warp location was sent to aid them in extrapolating theories as to where the seeker shuttle may have gone.

"Ultra Magnus," Hot Rod commed on the Wrecker's unit frequency. "We were checking out the Decepticon base and captured us a seeker. Whaddya want us to do with him?"

"Kup there with you," Ultra Magnus asked slightly worried at being commed by their most junior member.

"Yeah," Hot Rod affirmed, "he's talking with the seeker. It's really strange that he's not putting up a fight."

"I see," Ultra Magnus said with a frown as he rubbed the back of his helm in frustration, "well, keep an optic on him and transport him back to my location. Maybe I can figure out what's going on."

"You got it UM," Hot Rod chuckled.

The blue mech vented warningly, "Hot Rod…."

"Gotta go," Hot Rod laughed as he quickly disconnected the comms as he turned to Kup who was staring at the seeker bewildered. "Kup, UM says bring him back."

"Well," Kup said as he turned to regard the taller blood red seeker. "This is what's gonna happen 'Con, we're gonna take it nice and easy and pede it back to town, no funny business. You hear me?" The ancient mech waved his blaster in front of the seeker's face.

"Easy there, old mech," Steadyburn said as he raised his servos in the air. "Like I said, I owe you a high grade and I'm a bot of my word. Sad to say I wasn't expecting to repay you so soon, so I don't happen to have one on me at the moment I'll have to owe you."

The flame colored Autobot strode up alongside the seeker, "Kup, I don't know how you do it. How do you always manage to find bots to front you high grade? Frankly, as a mentor I'm disappointed in you, you should've taught me that vorns ago."

The seeker regarded the pair as they walked down the long road towards town and smirked, "perhaps you would learn better if you tried shooting your weapon more than shoot off your mouth?"

Hot Rod tripped for a moment as then growled at the seeker, "watch it Creep… Hey wait, how'd you know?"

Steadyburn grinned and tapped his audios, "sensitive arrays because energon emits delicate frequencies. Downside is I pretty much hear everything."

Kup started laughing and then wacked the seeker on the back sending the slender mech stumbling forward, "shame you're one of the bad guys kid, you'd be fun to have around."

Steadyburn smirked back, "I was thinking the same thing of you old mech."

Kup frowned and was about to reply when Hot Rod chuckled, "this has got to be the oddest mission I've ever been on."

"Not really," Kup said as he got that distant look in his optic. "I remember once on Telemax 6…"

Hot Rod looked up at the sky and vented softly mumbling, "not another story…"

Steadyburn watched the two and shook his helm. It had been quite a long time since he'd had actual interaction with living beings beyond that of his trine and even that hadn't consisted of much more than an occasional comm. As they walked he allowed himself to forget they were from different factions as they walked down the rubble strewn road towards the frontier settlement.

- Location, Unknown—

FirstAid came on line as code flashed on his HUD indicating the damage his systems sustained. What confused him more was the warning of extreme freezing temperatures on his frame which were impacting his processing core. He looked around as best he could limited by the injuries he sustained from the crash and the freezing temperatures. There was nothing much to the structure itself, almost as if he as being housed within a large bunker. He turned his head in the opposite direction and saw the seeker femme strapped down on a palette as small beings sprayed streams of white mist on her frame. He ran a quick scan and determined the mist was the cause of the freezing temperatures. These small beings had learned extreme cold effected Cybertronian functionality.

"Well, hello there! You finally woke up! We weren't sure you survived," said a cheery organic standing on rising platform to be closer to FirstAid's visor level.

FirstAid was unable to understand the language the small organic was speaking at first and looked around. He spied a bank of primitive computers and noted with relief the security on the devices was simplistic. He quickly hacked his way through and learned all he could until they realized what he was doing and with a shout starting shooting him with a plume of white mist he had analyzed as CO2 which was super-cooling his frame in an attempt to put his body into stasis.

FirstAid rasped out in English, "who are you? Why are you trying to prevent me from moving?"

"Ah, you understand me now, good." The organic turned and leaned over the platform to shout, "stop!"

The men raised their nozzles and waited as the organic turned back to FirstAid, "who I am is irrelevant. We must prevent you from moving because you are our prisoner. You've invaded our world and caused a great deal of death and destruction and that will not be tolerated. You and your friend over there will be used to determine how to disable or kill your kind because we will not allow you to continue to destroy our world."

"Invaded your…? Destroy? I am medic, a Protectobot, I do not kill, I save lives," FirstAid rasped as he fought stasis.

"So you say. But I have no idea what a Protectobot is and in the end it doesn't really matter. Your people are here and we will defend ourselves. Our survival comes first." The organic turned and shouted, "okay, ice him." The icy blast resumed and First Aid succumbed to stasis.

- New Iacon, Deca –

As Kup and Hot Rod escorted the injured seeker toward the center of town, Hot Rod confirmed what the seeker had just told him, "so what you're telling me is they pulled you off your mission so your leader could warp our medic somewhere?"

"Pretty much," Steadyburn said with a shrug and then groaned when the move aggravated his injury.

"I'd say sorry, but seeing as you're a Decepticon…," Kup said as he walked up to Ultra Magnus, "Magnus, this is the seeker that attacked our shuttle. His name's Steadyburn and he says he's an energon seeker assigned to kidnap FirstAid. The shuttle that left with 'Aid was his commander."

"I see," Ultra Magnus said looking down on the blood red Cybertronian. The seeker was similar in build to StarScream rather than the more frequently seen cone-headed variety, "alright, what makes you different than other seekers?"

Steadyburn rolled his optics in annoyance and when that didn't get a rise he realized the mech really didn't know, "seriously? You can't tell? Didn't you scan for weapon's systems?"

Ultra Magnus frowned and crossed his arms over his large chassis, "why would I need to."

"Well, if you thought I was a combat seeker wouldn't you want to be prepared?"

"I'm always prepared," Ultra Magnus retorted dryly.

Steadyburn's eyebrow ridges rose as he stammered, "oh, uh, well… okay then. Combat seekers have denser armor, weapon's systems, and munitions arrays. Energon seekers sacrifice all that for a larger hold capacity and mining lasers, which could be used as weapons but they have limited range." Ultra Magnus merely nodded his helm.

"Look," Steadyburn said in frustration, "I can't tell you anything important, I'm not the commander. All I know is that we were supposed to capture a medic and then Longflight was to transport him. That's it. Now, what are you mechs going to do with me? Off-line me? What?"

Kup regarded his superior questioningly and then added, "well, that's a thought, it would make things easier Magnus, what do you think?"

Steadyburn turned to regard the smaller mech with a sneer, "you Autobots have no honor."

Ignoring the interplay Ultra Magnus simply asked, "did you have orders once the medic was retrieved?"

"I was to rendezvous with a seeker unit Longflight returned," Steadyburn said turning to the larger mech nervously. _'So, this is it, they're gonna offline me for sure_,'Steadyburn thought.

"Quickdrill," Magnus shouted to gain the New Iaconian's attention. The mech quickly left the sobbing femme and dashed over.

"Yes commander?"

"Do you have anything that can be used as a brig?"

Steadyburn regarded the Autobot commander as his mouth dropped open. Kup watched the reaction and said softly, "we may be rough around the edges but you've got it all wrong. It's the Decepticons who have no honor."

Steadyburn turned to the small green mech and hissed, "it's you have been misinformed."

Ultra Magnus waived the two into silence to allow the civilian leader to respond as Quickdrill looked at the seeker and frowned, "well, yes, I suppose."

"Good, incarcerate the seeker until we figure out what we're going to do with him." Ultra Magnus then turned to stare at the seeker intently, "you will go without a fuss. If not, I can't guarantee your safety. Understood?"

"See," Steadyburn said in confirmation as he glared at Kup and then nodded at the Autobot commander. Quickdrill waved his arm and pointed towards the city center, Steadyburn followed Quickdrill with Kup alongside, weapon drawn and ready. Ultra Magnus watched the group depart when Springer walked up to his commander, "what was that all about."

Ultra Magnus huffed, "I'm not sure. I expect it takes all kinds of mechs to join the Decepticons but that one just doesn't make sense. He's off, but not insane like some we've met, and he's not a fighter. Well, it doesn't really matter at this point does it? Have you heard anything from Sky Lynx?"

"No I haven't," Springer said with a slight embarrassed jolt, "we've been busy combing the rubble for civilians."

"Alright, go to the port and comm Sky Lynx and find out what his status is. Then comm command and inform them about the seeker, ask them what they want us to do with him."

"You got it," Springer made a lazy salute and dashed off toward the port.

Ultra Magnus grumbled to himself, "why did Prime have to dump these undisciplined, disorderly…."

"Because," Bulkhead answered as he walked past, "he figured you'd straighten us out before we turned you into one of us. Betting by the way, favors us."

The glare Ultra Magnus gave Bulkhead was ignored as the smaller green mech chuckled as he walked off to help some civilians move rubble.

—◊◊—◊◊—◊◊—

Springer reached the space port quickly and within moments was settled at the long-range comm system. He quickly programmed a private, tight-beam signal to his compatriot Sky Lynx and waited for the response.

"Hey Lynxy, how's it going?"

Sky Lynx answered in a noble but sarcastic tone, "ah, it's you Springer, my day is complete."

The shuttle paused a beat and then snarled into the comms, "how do you think it's going after you lost FirstAid to the Decepticons?! The Council is understandably upset. I wonder why. At this very moment they are trying figure out how to shove me out of the landing bay. SHOVE I tell you! How could you let the Decepticons get FirstAid? I swear if your helms weren't bolted to your shoulders…."

"We've missed you too Lynxy," Springer interrupted the shuttle knowing he'd better do so or the shuttle would continue his ranting. "We can discuss the higher forms of military strategy when you pick us up. You can pick us up, right?" 

"Of course," the shuttle replied haughtily, "FirstAid, you know the very competent surgeon you lesser life forms lost to the Decepticons? Well, he repaired most of my systems before he left. He was at least wise enough to understand the processors of the Council and no doubt discerned your lack of ability to protect him so he made sure I was capable of flight before he left. Which, I must say adds to the insult since I have to rescue your collective metal afts, again. Oh, perchance, you didn't lose Perceptor did you?"

"No, of course not, why?"

"Ah, a miracle, finally. At lease _he_ can be counted on to finish my repairs," Sky Lynx commed followed by a rather undignified yelp, "they DARE? They dare to push me?! Oh they are very lucky indeed I'm an Autobot or I'd be playing chomp and stomp the civilians right now!"

"Uh, Sky Lynx…"

"I'm a civilized mech, couldn't they simply ask me to leave? Do they think I'm some unintelligent drone they can shove about?! I can think circles around these impudent….!"

"SKY LYNX!"

"What now Springer? I'm very busy contemplating the manner in which I plan to excoriate them!"

"Don't bother. Just ignore them, get off _Metroplex_ and get your large conjoined aft over here. Magnus wants us off this rock."

"Conjoined?! Oh, little mech, we shall have words. I was already in the process of leaving Commander Impatience, I simply wasn't expecting our hosts to treat me in such an undignified manner! Sky Lynx. Out!" Sky Lynx terminated the call as Springer leaned back in his seat and sighed remembering he'd forgotten to get an ETA.

"Ah, why bother, he'll get here when he gets here," Springer muttered as he changed frequencies to Autobot command and waited for a response.

"Blaster here, who's callin?"

"Hey Blaster, this is Springer from Wrecker Unit One. Ultra Magnus is asking for orders and I'm to pass on an update."

"I hear ya mech, be right back WUO, Blaster out."

"WUO?" Springer leaned back in his seat and then grinned as he sent a private comm to his buddy Bulkhead. '_Hey Bulky, guess what Command is calling us now?'_

_:'Why? You aren't patient enough to…'_

_:'WUO…'_

"Wrecker Unit One," a different voice came over the comm system interrupting Springer's internal dialog with Bulkhead.

_:'sigh. WUO huh, just as bad UM, Magnus is not gonna love that one at all!'_

"This is Wrecker Unit One, go ahead Command," Springer replied and then added in his private comms, _'gotta go catch up with you in a few._'

:_'Later.'_

"This is Prowl, what is your transport situation?"

"Waiting on Sky Lynx. I believe he's mostly functional but requires Perceptor to make a few more repairs. As to what they are we'll know when he arrives. We do have a civilian shuttle but it's not warp capable. During our mission we captured us a seeker and Magnus wants to know what you'd like us to do with him?"

"Advise Ultra Magnus that Optimus Prime issued recall orders. Sending coordinates, rendezvous if able. As to the seeker, extract any useful information and relay. If the Deca authorities can handle the prisoner let them. If not, disable his comms and weapons and leave him there. Command out."

"On the move again," Springer muttered as waited for the coordinates. Once he received them he switched his internal comms, '_Ultra Magnus, Sky Lynx was forced off Metroplex and is in route. Optimus ordered a recall, sending you the coordinates, someplace in the Sol System I think. Command says get any useful information from the prisoner and relay. Then the Deca authorities hold him, if they can't we're to disable his comms and weapons and leave him here. That's it. So boss, do you want me to stay and monitor comms?'_

_:'Thank you Springer. Can you set up a redirect to ping either Kup or myself for incoming messages?'_

_:'Think so.'_

_:'Do so and once it's up and running return to the city center. Stay if you can't. Out.'_

Ultra Magnus reviewed the sent coordinates with a huff as Kup strode up to the larger bot.

"Bad news," Kup asked as he noted Ultra Magnus' frown.

"No, just another change in orders. I would prefer command stop sending us from one side of the galaxy to another for a change. Since that doesn't to appear to be happening any time soon I'd like you to interrogate the seeker. Once you've gotten all you can out of him have Perceptor go down and disable his comms and weapons. We'll leave him on Deca as soon as Sky Lynx arrives."

"On it," Kup did a lazy salute as he fished around in subspace for another stick which he promptly stuck in his mouth and ignited. Ultra Magnus rolled his optics and strode off to the Health Center to find out how Preceptor was doing.

- Cybertron –

Megatron stepped out of the chamber the Fallen had taken refuge in trailed by StarScream, "you will return with me to Earth."

"Master," StarScream whined, "is that truly necessary? Wouldn't my time be better spent gathering our forces than following you back to that mudball?"

Megatron turned and quickly grabbed the smaller bot by the throat, "do not press me StarScream, I am not in the mood. We must retrieve the AllSpark data from the boy and destroy Optimus. Despite your annoying penchant for abandoning me, I need your firepower." Megatron let go of the seeker who stumbled back a few steps and then froze as Megatron on-lined his cannon its purple glow highlighted the terrified seeker's face, "or not. You're choice. As I said, I'm not in the mood."

"My lord, I ask for permission to detour to my destroyer to issue orders to our forces. They should rendezvous with you on Earth to prepare for an Autobot retaliation. That is if you approve," StarScream bowed low and waited his wings flicked with tension as the sound of Megatron's cannons hummed in the dusky Cybertronian air. There was no answer, simply the sound of the cannon disengaging.

"Go and inform our forces. Once that has been done join me on Earth. Do not keep me waiting," Megatron transformed and jetted off the scarred landscape. StarScream's wings drooped for a moment as he huffed in relief and then transformed and followed his leader.

- Unknown Location –

FirstAid feigned recharge as he monitored his scanners. Apparently their technology hadn't registered the energy change from recharge to waking as he followed their movement within the bunker he was being held. He waited with patience as they worked his processor distractedly trying to understand what they were doing to them. The organic beings had already removed his limbs as well as those of the Decepticon on the berth next to him. He knew she was functioning and was observing the organics as well. Both Cybertronians waited until the last organic had left the room.

FirstAid had never recalled ever being in such a hopeless situation and was finding it hard to be positive. When the door finally sealed shut with a click the medic quickly activated his systems. He scanned the room and noted with relief the organics hadn't taken their limbs away as he turned his helm to look at the black Decepticon laying nearby.

"DustStorm are you alright," he asked as he watched the Decepticon's helm turn as her red optics glowed brighter and settled upon FirstAid's face mask.

"Does it matter Autobot," she vented softly.

FirstAid paused for a moment perplexed, "I suppose not."

"Do you know where are," she asked as she attempted to get a better look of the room they were in.

"No," he answered honestly as he watched her, "all I know is the beings that hold us are called humans. The Decepticons are here and have apparently caused a great deal of harm because they are using us to determine how best to off-line us."

"Back to that again are we," she said as she looked away from her wings leaning against the wall. "I think the better question is what these organics have that would make you Autobots attack them?" FirstAid continued to regard the femme which disconcerted her given his facial coverings. When he failed to answer she simply huffed, "why so silent? Truth hurt?"

"What can be said has already been said. We both believe the other's faction is responsible so I see no point in arguing further. Instead I am trying to think of a way to reassure you that causing harm of any form is not part of my core programming."

She laughed dryly, "and we're back to the beginning which is how am I supposed to trust the word of an Autobot?"

He turned his helm to regard the ceiling and noted in frustration his inability to easily shift his shoulders into a shrug, "I have no idea. Instead consider this, neither of us has the upper hand nor are we likely to escape. So what benefit would I gain in lying to you at this point?" He rotated his helm to regard the femme.

She frowned at him as she considered his words and hummed, "you could be working with the humans and… no, frankly I can't think of a thing. Fine, for now, truce."

"Good, truce then. DustStorm, I am not used to silence can we at least speak with one another?"

"I see no reason why not but I'm not really much of a conversationalist," she added sardonically.

"You're doing fine and this is much better than before. How are you feeling? I have never felt anger like this before and it bothers me greatly."

"I am concerned but not angry. Why are you bothered by your anger?"

He looked at the femme for a moment bewildered as he had expected her to be angry as well. At least it would give him something else to think about as he answered, "I am a healer and it pains me when I can't help someone in pain. I suppose if they were attempting to gain information by torture they have succeeded but they ask me nothing."

"Torture? Yes, you are right. Have you noticed where they've placed my wings? Easily viewable but out of reach? Why haven't they asked us anything?"

"I came on-line briefly when we first arrived. The human said they were examining us for means to terminate us. If you look at their systems they are extremely archaic yet there's a slight similarity to ours. I was able to access an information feed prior to them shutting me and it down. Their view of technology is different than ours, more servant or non-sentient. Perhaps they do not believe they can interrogate us thinking that since we are without sentience we can't be coerced by subtle manipulation…."

She laughed dryly, "I wouldn't call removing our limbs subtle."

"Well, that's true," FirstAid answered slightly flustered with embarrassment, "I'm rambling, sorry. I'm not a leader and never expected to ever be in this position."

"In that we reach common ground," she flashed him an ironic smile.

His optics widened behind his visor when his spark thumped in response to her smirk. Not for the first time was he grateful for his masks, he turned away and chided himself for responding like a youngling. When he had better control of himself he turned back to her, "having common ground is a good place to start. Perhaps between the two of us we can work out a way to escape."

Her optics widened and then she burst out laughing. When he turned his helm away she tried to choke back her laughter, "I'm sorry, really. I don't mean to laugh at you I just… I wasn't expecting you to say that."

He turned his helm back, "no, that's alright. I am finding it very hard to be optimistic because it does seem likely we will never escape and I do not know how to behave. All I know is medically when we give up our sparks fade. As a physician I must do what I can to prevent that. Perhaps encouraging false hope is the wrong way to do that but it's all I can think of at the moment."

She regarded the medic compassionately, "I understand. I will do what I can to help. I don't want to offline here either. So, let us consider escape."

"I have attempted to run my scanners beyond the walls, but the signal seems to bounce back. I believe the room is shielded as I was able to scan into the room beyond when the portal is open."

"Interesting. It appears they've managed to figure out scan proof shielding," she muttered as she activated her scanners. "I'm running into a similar difficulty. What about the technology can you still access it?"

"No, once they realized what I was doing they cut access and then wiped the system. Instead there's a rudimentary program they've installed which is encoded. I've tried to hack it. The best I can deduce is they're trying to understand our basic biology, down to the microscopic level."

"I wish I could help you but when it comes to biological science I'm not the bot to go to. I can compute wavelengths of various energy sources and extract energon but that's about it."

"Hmm, and the shielding of this room is preventing your scanners from working as well? We should take a sample when we escape, it would be very useful."

She opened her mouth to retort and then thought better of it, "yes, it would be useful."

The door to the room activated as FirstAid turned back to the femme, "simulate recharge until they leave."

She glared at him for issuing an order but complied as a single human entered the lab muttering in a language FirstAid hadn't scanned. He almost jumped when he received an internal comm, '_what language is that?'_

_:'I don't know. How did you?'_

_:'Easy, you're the only Cybertronian signature present.'_

_:'Oh. I am embarrassed I hadn't thought of that earlier.'_

_:'Why should you. Like you said, you aren't used to being alone. Do you wish to observe the human in silence or do you wish to continue our conversation?'_

_:'I would like to continue our conversation but he does scan our systems, I don't think I can do both without raising suspicions.'_

_:'Understood.'_

- Chicago, Illinois – Accuretta Systems Building, Subbasement Bunker –

Dr. Gurmit Krishmanurty sat at a computer terminal and activated the system and waited. Once it was fully booted he picked up a hand-held device and stood. With a distracted expression he walked over to a cherry-picker and climbed into the basket. Once settled he pushed a button which raised the basket up until he reached the desired height and then he released the button. From this vantage point he was able to see both Cybertronian bodies as he activated his hand-held scanner.

He waited for the data to scroll and then huffed in frustration as the data displayed was the same as before. He set the device on the control panel and stared at the two massive bodies, "I have perhaps misjudged you both. Perhaps your technology is capable of masking my scanners so I could posit the theory that you are both aware of my presence. If you are, I wish to speak with you." The lab coated doctor waited patiently wondering if either would respond.

:_'I don't trust him.'_

_:'Neither do I but like him we cannot gain any more information without interaction.'_

_:'Whatever.'_

To the human's shock the red and white mechanical being's visor began to glow blue like the first time they'd spoke, "why?"

The doctor stood for a moment blinking having not expected a response nor one so oblique, "why? Are you asking me why you should respond or why I would wish to speak with you?"

FirstAid merely tilted his helm and said nothing further curious to see what the human would do.

"I will assume you are asking both questions then," he answered. "I would like you to speak with me because I need to find out more about you. I had hoped you would be interested in speaking with me because if you do so you might be able to gain your freedom."

The female robot in the background's optics glowed ruby read and laughed, "oh, really? Do not lie to us human, you have made no plans to set us free, admit it."

Gurmit frowned at the being, "what makes you think I'm lying."

FirstAid regarded the human, "your own body indicates you are. Now, let us try this again. Who are you?"

"Fine. My name is Doctor Gurmit Krishmanurty, I am trained in both the medical and scientific fields of my people. And yes, I did lie, I have to. I must find out as much about your kind as I can and I am running out of time. My world is in jeopardy because of you, many human lives are at stake…."

"Why are human lives at stake," FirstAid asked.

"You have attacked our world and as a result have killed a great many of our people. We have also gleaned rumors of more attacks. If my people are to survive we must be able to defend ourselves. Would you not do the same for your world?"

When neither robotic being responded he shook his head, "I see you will not answer me. Perhaps you address my curiosity about you. The symbols you wear are not the same, what do they represent?"

FirstAid regarded the human thoughfully for a few moments and then answered, "they are the symbols of our factions. The symbol on my shin is that of the Autobots. Hers is the symbol of the Decepticons."

"Hers… it is curious that robotic beings would require genders," Gurmit muttered. Then he resumed his questioning, "what do these 'factions' mean? What are you doing here on Earth?"

FirstAid ignored the first part of the question and simply answered, "we are at war. I was kidnapped by the Decepticons and brought here because I am a medic. As to why our kind is on your world, I do not know."

Gurmit looked over at the femme, "why did you kidnap him?" DustStorm simply stared at him.

"Please, help me to understand," he said encouragingly.

"Reassemble me and then I may talk," she answered bluntly.

"That I cannot do," Gurmit said shaking his head. "You are far too dangerous to us fully assembled, so it is safer for us to leave you in this state. I must know, why are you at war with us?"

FirstAid looked at the ceiling and vented, "we are not at war with you. We are at war with each other. What happened here to make you so afraid of us?"

Gurmit looked down for a moment as he tried to decide whether to answer. Then he looked up at FirstAid, "this is all I know. Your kind has been on our world for over thirty or forty years searching for something, manipulating us secretly. Three years ago two battles occurred which caused a great deal of destruction and casualties. We do not know why. Since then more of you have been arriving which suggests a military build-up. Against you we are defenseless so I have been tasked to find a way to utilize your technology to protect us from you."

"I am sorry for your people," FirstAid said sadly. "I would be glad to help in any way except in the creation of weapons, I am a pacifist."

"What? Really?" DustStorm snorted startled into speaking, "you're a pacifist? Why do you wear the Autobot shield instead of affiliating with the neutral factions?"

FirstAid turned to regard the femme, "I carried the shield long before the war started."

"Defense still requires offense," DustStorm countered. "If you are participating in the war you cannot be considered a pacifist."

"I did not have much of a choice," FirstAid answered. "The law is the law and I obeyed."

"Ah," DustStorm answered sadly and nodded which did little to help the doctor who listened with confusion.

"I do not. Law? Please tell me what you mean?"

FirstAid turned back to regard the doctor, "our governmental system maintained our society under a caste law. My form's caste was slotted for service in the defense forces. I was fortunate that my commanders understood my pacifism and allowed me to perform medical instead of combat duties. Do you understand what a caste is?"

"I do actually," Gurmit responded sadly, "my country of origin had caste laws. I would not be a scientist today if those laws still existed."

DustStorm regarded the human, "now you understand why we are at war."

Gurmit frowned thoughtfully, "so, you are fighting because of the caste law?"

FirstAid tried to shrug, "a simplistic view. It is far more complex than that."

Gurmit regarded the Autobot, "politics are always complex, this I understand. As to you, since you say the Autobots were the original defense forces I must assume it was the Decepticons who fought against the caste."

"Yes and no," FirstAid answered. "Many did not agree with the caste laws and we wanted to find a way of changing the law without civil war. We selected a new leader, a Prime, who felt as we did and he did change the laws. But it was not enough for some. That is the simplest explanation I can give you."

"And you," Gurmit looked at the femme, "do you agree with what he just said?"

DustStorm snorted at the human, "would it matter if I did? Would you set me free then?" Gurmit shook his. "I thought as much. I will never cooperate with you as long as you hold me as a prisoner. Are we clear organic?"

Gurmit nodded and then looked at FirstAid, "and you, do you feel the same way?"

"As long as you wish to use me to create weapons, I will never aid you," FirstAid answered.

"Even to save lives?"

"I will not be used as a weapon…"

"But you are a weapon," Gurmit shouted angrily. "Can't you see that? Just look at you, everything about you is a weapon…."

FirstAid interrupted the doctor, "we were not created for war. Should I look at you and assume since humans fight you are a warrior?"

"FirstAid, stop, there is no reasoning with the organic," DustStorm warned.

The doctor shouted in frustration, "Gurmit! My name is Gurmit, not organic. Look, I came to you because I heard rumors you are sentient, more than just programmed robots of war. I have to keep you like this because your presence alone is dangerous to us. Please, if you are feeling beings and do care about life, help me save my people."

"You take us a part, tell us you will never let us go, and then have the audacity to expect us to assist you? You really need to work on your bargaining… Gurmit," DustStorm sneered. "Now if you are finished wasting our valuable time, please leave us."

Gurmit shook his head and hit the button on the cherry picker to lower the basket to the ground. He stepped out of the basket and stormed out the door leaving the computer systems on line.

FirstAid reached out through his comm system to attach to the computer system and rummaged through the device. With a grunt he resumed staring up at the ceiling, "the computer system is dedicated, all external accessibility has been severed."

"So," DustStorm said despondently, "we're back to where we started."

"I'm afraid so."

- ◊◊—◊◊—◊◊—

Gurmit stormed into his main lab and walked to the large table in the center of the room. He slammed both fists on the white surface in frustration and tried to control his breathing. All attempts at making a robotic suit that could be manipulated by a human pilot had failed. The suit itself was easily replicable but the neural interface refused to function. The interaction between the organic neural system and the mechanical neural network needed some sort of bridge and all attempts at building one had failed.

Dr. Krishmanurty sat down and tried to keep himself from weeping. He'd just lost another human test subject which had provoked him into goading the robots into speaking with him. He stood and walked over to the lab's refrigerator and extracted a caffeinated beverage and quickly drank the contents. Tonight would be another sleepless night as he tried another variation of the nanobot technology, his theory in creating the neural interface. He had to find a way to make it work.

- Decepticon Hidden Base, Moon –

Longflight sat in the small infirmary as the medic, actually the commander of the base with a medical kit, patched up the injuries he'd received from the warp entry strike.

"Sir, I'd like permission to leave and search the planet for my trine-mate," Longflight asked the commander as he snapped the medical kit closed.

"Nope," the grounder said with a pat to his shoulder, "you're stuck here until StarScream arrives. Just count yourself lucky 'cause most don't survive failing one of Soundwave's missions. Just hope StarScream'll be as lenient."

Longflight nodded and looked up at the ceiling with a vent, "true."

"I'm curious why you didn't tell Soundwave your trine-mate was on board?"

"The Decepticon commander on Deca charged her with treason. He's slightly….," Longflight pointed a digit at his helm and did a circular motion. "I figured it was safer not to say anything."

"Makes sense, but definitely not a wise move. You can't pull anything over on Soundwave, ever. Are we clear? What about your other trine member, what's his name?"

"Steadyburn? I don't know, I just hope he got off that moon and didn't get taken out by the Autobots," Longflight looked at the Decepticon ground commander. "Would it be alright to send a comm to Command to inquire?"

"Nope. Both the organics and Autobots monitor this system. We're to stay hidden for as long as possible. Let's hope our little rescue of your aft didn't attract attention. But I figured it was better to pick you up than let you float around."

"I'm grateful. So, the Autobots are here huh," Longflight asked out of a sort of bored curiosity. The grounder sat beside him and pulled out a bottle from subspace. He opened it, took a swig and then offered it to the shuttle mech.

Longflight took the offered bottle and brought it to his lips. Tipping the bottle, his optics widened as the harsh liquid rolled down his throat. He did his best to refrain from coughing which only made the grounder laugh, "yeah, it's harsh but it's all I've got."

The short grounder rocked back and forth as he spoke, occasionally stopping to sip from the bottle, "yeah they're here and worse, so's the Prime. I thought Megatron killed that bot vorns ago but nope, he's still alive and kicking."

The grounder put an arm on the seeker with the excitement of a gossip, "oh and it gets better, rumors say the Prime killed Megatron and destroyed the AllSpark, at the same time! Bad enough the Primes ruined our world. But now, how will we ever be able to rebuild our population without the AllSpark? I can't think of anything worse that could happen to our people."

Longflight stared at the smaller mech in horror, "both Megatron and the AllSpark are gone?! Megatron I can understand he is a warrior and even the best of us fall. But the Prime destroyed the AllSpark?! Why? It doesn't make any sense."

"When do Primes ever?" The commander shook his helm sadly, "all we can do is keep our helms low and hope someday we'll be alive to see peace."

"Peace? Where? Cybertron's dead, what's the point," Longflight said as he drank from the bottle.

"Looking at it that way, sure it's pretty hopeless," the commander said as he took the bottle from Longflight and drank. "Thing is seeker, for us regulars to find happiness we don't look at the big picture. We focus on the little one. For me, it's being on an uncontested moon without any Autobots shooting at me. Now that's happiness. For you, make your trine your happiness and go from there."

Longflight shrugged and took the bottle and drank again, "well, until StarScream gets here that is. So tell me, what's a mech to do on this moon?"

- New Iacon, Deca, The Brig –

Steadyburn walked back and forth in the small cell letting his wing clank against each bar. His mission: drive the civilian guard insane, the result would be freedom. Of course if that didn't work he could use his mining lasers. But until then, why not drive the guardsmech crazy?

"Hey," the guard shouted, "will you stop that!"

Steadyburn grinned to himself, "sure, if you let me go!"

"You think a little noise is going to make me let you go? I'll just turn down my audios," the guard quipped.

"Oh, well, yeah," Steadyburn said with a sigh, "I was hoping you'd forget about that."

The guard shook his head as Steadyburn kept his pacing, his wing pinging against each bar. As Steadyburn reached the wall he turned to watch the guardsmech and then shouted, "hey, can I have some energon?"

When the guard didn't respond he quickly turned his scanners on and surveyed the area he was in. Unfortunately the brig was underground in the basement of the city center so he would have to exit out the main door. He turned back to the cell doors shocked that they were actually made of metal instead of laser security bars. With a flick of his mining laser he sliced through the lock and waited. When the guard made no reaction he opened the door and ran towards the guard. The guard looked up only to see a huge fist which slammed him into the wall. The neutral slid to the floor as Steadyburn scanned him and sighed with relief the bot was in stasis and not off-lined.

Activating his scanners again he opened the door and moved up the access ramps and froze when he picked up a strong energon signal. He paused for a moment indecisively over whether to bolt for freedom or grab fuel. Fuel won as he turned down the corridor and headed towards the energon signal, scanners keeping him apprised of the activity within the building. Who knew that scanners for energon would make escaping such a breeze?

Once he reached the storage room, a quick flick of his laser had the door opened. He gaped at the supply and quickly filled his storage with as much as he could carry and then consumed his fill. Once he was ready he again headed out and made his way up the ramps towards the exit.

- ◊◊—◊◊—◊◊—

Sky Lynx landed at the space port with grace as his commander Ultra Magnus strode up. Lynx's long neck and huge head made up the distance surprising the commander into a stumbling halt as he regally announced, "I am here."

"I can see that," Magnus responded drolly. "What I need to know is what's the status of your warp engine."

"Other than my warp engine, I'm fine thank you for asking. At least you have manners Magnus. With some work, I believe Perceptor can get me functional."

"Good, that's what I wanted to hear." Magnus nodded and then placed a hand to his helm and activated his unit comms., "Sky Lynx has arrived. Let's pack up and get ready to roll. Finish whatever project you're doing and head to the space port. Kup, if you haven't done a final interrogation of the seeker do it now. Perceptor, get over to the City Center and short out the seeker's comm and weapon systems before we go. Magnus out."

- ◊◊—◊◊—◊◊—

Perceptor sighed gustily as he finished attaching an arm on one of the surviving medical bots, "Magnus' time is amazingly accurate. I am sorry my dear we must leave. Can you handle the rest of the medical work from here?"

The white femme smiled at the taller mech wistfully as she tested the repairs, "of course. But, must you leave right away?"

Perceptor smiled at the femme sadly, "unfortunately. Although, it would have been nice to have gotten to know you better."

"Well, there's no reason to leave that quickly, is there?" She smiled suggestively as she placed a delicately shaped servo on his bracer.

Perceptor tilted his helm and smiled. With long strides he walked over to the door and locked it, "he didn't actually give me a precise time table."

The femme slid off the medical berth and walked over to the tall mech. She smiled widely as she ran her servo down the center of his red chassis stopping right above his spark chamber. With a jaunty grin she gently pushed him against the door, "well until you are given a 'precise time' let's take our time in saying goodbye."

"I couldn't agree more," Perceptor responded huskily as he lowered his helm to hers and sent a gentle em pulse as he pulled her delicate frame against his.

- ◊◊—◊◊—◊◊—

Steadyburn reached the main floor and noted with relief the building was unoccupied and he wasn't about to question why. He headed toward the door and activated his scanners to see if he could pick up any energon signals. There were several markers in the quad but they were small signatures, which he hoped meant they were civilians.

"Here goes nothing," he muttered as he threw open the door and leaped out. Not even bothering to look around he quickly transformed and activated his thrusters. The rate of speed of his ignited thrusters was enough to create a sonic boom which had several civilians screaming in terror thinking they were under attack again.

- ◊◊—◊◊—◊◊—

Ultra Magnus was looking toward the city when he was finishing his recall comm and sighed when he saw a flicker of light streak up and the sonic boom that followed. He turned to Sky Lynx with a tired sigh, "that was a Decepticon seeker wasn't it."

"Unless you happen to have a red flyer in your unit, yes."

Magnus tilted his helm and activated the unit's comms, "Kup, don't worry about interrogating the prisoner, he just escaped. Just check out the building and make sure everybots okay. Perceptor just pack up and be ready to move."

Perceptor, at that moment, was quite grateful he didn't have to respond.

Magnus turned and headed towards the port's communication's array muttering, "I'll be right back, I'm going to comm command and let them know the Decepticon escaped. Just make sure everyone is boarded when I get back."

Sky Lynx shook his great helm and huffed sarcastically, "oh sure, why not? As if those miscreants would listen to me any more than they do you. I can't believe you're making me wrangle these younglings, I do have better things I could be doing right now. Like, oh I don't know, chasing after that Decepticon…."

Magnus simply ignored the mech's rant and entered the building as he pinched his nasal in a weak attempt to forestall a massive processor ache.

- Autobot Frigate _Varion_ -

Blaster spun slow circles in his seat, he wasn't bored there was plenty of work to keep him busy, he was actually fighting off fatigue from working the comms and intelligence stations without break for several orns. He should've gone off duty earlier as Hound was more than ready take his shift but he'd started picking up Decepticon troop movement.

Blaster pulled up various lists of troop movement and finally conceded he needed assistance. He pinged the First's quarters, "hey, Prowl, are you up?"

Prowl slowly rolled off his berth, trying to shake the fog of a restarting processor as his servo toggled the comm box next to him, "yes, go ahead Blaster."

"Ah need you to check out intel, ah think the Decepticreaps are on the move," Blaster reported.

"On my way," Prowl slowly rolled onto his pedes and walked over to his storage unit and extracted a cube of energon. He quickly opened the container and downed its contents before striding out of his quarters.

Blaster commed Hound as well, "hey Hound you still up and about."

"I am indeed," Hound responded quickly from the Rec. Room. "Just waiting for you to take a break. At this rate you're gonna crash your processor if you don't take better care of yourself."

"Ah know buddy. Ah just wanted to get a better handle of what's happenin', best you come up here and listen in with what ah've gotta tell Prowl." 

"No problem," the slender olive green mech placed his servo on the table top and looked at Hoist. "I'm off to the bridge. I think you should pull Blaster aside and give him a once over, the bot's been working himself too hard."

Hoist chuckled, "Prowl's worse. Ever tried to get the First in the med bay? Sometimes I wished Ratchet were here because at least Prowl might listen to him."

Hound laughed as he stood and strode out of the room. The _Varion_ was a small ship, at least in Cybertronian standards and it wasn't surprising for Hound to meet up with Prowl at the lift. The First regarded the lazy salute Hound gave him with a tip of his helm.

"Blaster?"

"Yep," Hound replied. "I'm glad he finally summoned me. I was beginning to get worried. You realize he's been at his station for over 3 orns and you're no better Prowl. So I'd like to offer you some advice old friend to old friend. You're no good to us if you crash so you need to make sure you and your command team get rest. As a scout I need to make sure I'm functioning at 100% efficiency, if not there might be something I miss. Our safety depends on me not missing anything, catch my drift Prowl?"

Prowl frowned at the unwanted advice, "since when have you started giving advice to command staff?"

"Who else here is willing to tell you and survive _that_ look? Prowl, you're a fine bot and commander, don't get me wrong but even the finest need recharging from time to time. So, do I need to take myself off to the brig for insubordination?"

Prowl continued to stare at the mech, the frown unchanging as the lift slowed to a stop and the doors slid open, "no. Good observation from a scout should never be disregarded."

Hound grinned and thumped the Praxian commander on the back making Prowl's optics widen as he turned to glare at the olive green scout, "good to know Prowl. Let's go find out what's got Blaster worked up."

"Just don't let it happen again," Prowl muttered without conviction as he walked over to Blaster's station. Hound's only response was a deep rumbling chuckle as they stopped behind the comm officer's station.

Blaster turned in his seat, "there's so much going on right now ah don't know how to make sense of it. Ah'll just show you what's happening and then perhaps the three of us can figure out what's being played."

Prowl nodded and crossed his arms over his chassis as Blaster directed everyone over to the main Bridge screen and started throwing up data, "alright, here's what's goin' on. Comm traffic has the Decepticons mobilizing to Earth. We got info from Prime the AllSpark shard was stolen and later a flyer leaves from Prime's location. Tracking and scan indicates the bot _is _Megatron and he's headed to Cybertron. No intel from Cybertron and nothing on Shockwave. StarScream left his destroyer and is headed to Cybertron also. Which makes me guess there's meet'n'greet between him and Megs. Can't confirm cause ah can't reach the femmes, so ah don't know if they're comm silent or gone, which ah think ya might wanna hold off on tellin' Prime or 'Hide…."

A ping from Blaster's station made him step away mumbling as he walked over to his station and sat down, "and that's an outpost close to Cybertron sayin' Megs and Screamy just left. Ah'll let ya know where they go as soon as my outposts report in. Somethin's goin' on and Earth's in the cross-hairs again. Ah haven't seen the 'Cons this active since they located the AllSpark."

Prowl regarded the screen, "have you commed Prime?"

"Nope, thought you should see what ah got and let you drive," Blaster said as he spun in his seat to face the First.

"Compare unit deployment, we need to let Prime know who's going to get to Earth first and with the greater numbers," Prowl asked as he stared at the data.

"One sec," Blaster muttered as he again attacked his station with renewed vigor. "Here's what we've got…."

Prowl regarded the screen and noted the various troop locations, "not good. Open a channel."

Blaster nodded and opened a hail and waited a breem, "I'm not getting any response Prowl."

"Perfect," Prowl grumbled as he turned to navigation. "Skids do we have enough fuel to warp to Earth?"

"No," Skids said as he moved his data up onto the main monitor. "But, we can detour to this depot and refuel. Won't get there immediately, but we will get there."

"Fine, plot our course. Skids take the comm, Hound fill in for Blaster. Blaster, you and I will visit Hoist in the med bay. Skids, make sure every bot on this ship has checked in with Hoist. I want everyone ready and rested when we arrive on Earth. Understood?"

A chorus of 'yes sirs' followed the First off the bridge with a disgruntled Blaster by his side. Prowl noted Blaster's response and held a servo in front of the mech, "no, no arguments. You and I have been pushing ourselves and if we continue we will be of no use to anybot. Clear?"

"Yeah," Blaster said as he leaned back against the lift wall. "Does that mean no R&R in the rec room?"

"Of course not," Prowl said shaking his helm, his red chevron reflecting the light. "Just make sure you get plenty of recharge. You're the bot closest in skill to Jazz and Optimus is going to need every iota of processor you can devote."

Blaster looked up at the ceiling, "never expected this."

"Neither did I. He was one of those bots that made you think he was impervious, could never fall to the Decepticons," Prowl looked down at the floor his spark growing heavy. Blaster placed a servo on Prowl's shoulder in comfort as they rode the lift to the medical floor.

- Decepticon Destroyer _Fury_ -

StarScream didn't bother to refuel once he arrived on his ship, instead he strode quickly up to the bridge skidding to a stop on the main platform. "Plot a course to Earth," he said distastefully.

"Sir," a drone looked up from the navigation station. "There's not enough fuel to warp directly."

"What else is new," the Seeker commander vented in disgust. "Well, what _can_ we do?"

"At regular speed we can reach the system in about two orbital cycles," the drone looked up worried he'd be receiving a physical retribution for not providing information the commander wanted.

StarScream huffed as he paced, "and the rest of our forces? I want to see what our current deployment."

The drone at the tactical station quickly ported the data to the main view screen as StarScream sat awkwardly in the command chair to review the data and muttered, "well, mighty Megatron, it looks like we'll be two orns too late, but we'll get there."

In a louder voice he ordered, "summon Astrotrain. Comm me when he arrives. Have a combat unit ready to go, we'll warp ahead on Astrotrain after he arrives and refuels. Your orders are to continue on course to Earth, you'll get there when you get there. I'll be in my quarters recharging." StarScream rose from his seat and stormed off the bridge.

After a breem the drones looked around carefully and raised servos in the air and cheered enthusiastically. One drone looked at his brethren quizzically. His partner leaned over, "we're going to be left alone for two whole orbital cycles which means no screaming officious commanders, no off-lining for mistakes not under our control, and if we're really lucky, no Autobots shooting at us." The newest drone smiled with new found understanding.

- New Jersey, NEST Base—

Bumblebee arrived at the NEST site in New Jersey grateful for the flight and avoiding the long drive. But he was also cramped from being restrained during the duration. Once the cargo strapping was removed he quickly rolled down the plane's ramp and once his tires hit the tarmac transformed into his bot mode. With several exaggerated stretches he walked over to the hangar to meet several NEST officers.

A young woman in camouflage gear strode up to the yellow Autobot, "you Bumblebee?" He nodded in response as he knelt before the young woman.

"Welcome to New Jersey, Bumblebee. Mission orders have changed. Optimus Prime and the rest of your team is in route from Diego Garcia. You're to wait here until they arrive. Optimus wants to brief you personally. In the meantime, you're welcome to rest inside the hangar and fuel up."

Bumblebee stood and gave the woman a thumbs up as he played a brief snipped of clips, "show me… were I can… refuel?"

- College –

Sam finally, and with great relief watched his parents drive off. He loved his parents, really he did, but there were times were so embarrassing Sam wished he were adopted. He turned to face the dorms and sighed not relishing his new living arrangements and more importantly his roommate, but that was his decision, right? Inside his room he put his things away and set up his computer for his video chat/date later that evening. Once that was done, he jumped on his bed and looked out the window absently scanning the parking lot. He blinked when he realized what he was doing and more specifically who he was looking for. He slumped back onto the bed and tried to convince himself that this was the right decision to make.

- New Jersey, NEST Base —

Two huge globemasters moved into a graceful banking turn after receiving NEST base air traffic control confirmation to land. Aboard the aircraft was the working contingent of NEST, both human and alien. The humans were quickly gathering up their gear while the strapped down Autobots chattered amongst themselves. Tension was high, especially amongst the Autobots, although Optimus maintained a sense of outward calm.

They were relocating to New Jersey based slim evidence and a gambled move by Optimus. The Decepticon extraction of the shard, the attack upon the SOSUS net by a possibly revived Megatron, active Decepticon movement on the Eastern seaboard of the United States all pointed to something, but what? Optimus used the restricted position to review the data again. As much as it saddened him to watch Megatron die, his death had given Optimus hope for an eventual peaceful future for his people. Now it appeared he was again forced to strategize against a devious mastermind and if Optimus failed Megatron would easily destroy more than just the Autobots Optimus had sworn to protect.

It had been easier when he didn't have to deal with the unpredictable inhabitants of this world. At least off world he had some sense of control. Humanity, however, was thoroughly uncooperative and had he been in their stead facing a superior alien force, he doubted he would've reacted differently. He used that emotional base to help him in dealing with most of the humans he encountered and with many he had succeeded. It was within the political arena he'd had the least amount of success. Soldiers easily understood the simplicity of defense and protecting those you love. Some politicians were less noble at times. Which, he puffed a jet of air from his compressor, didn't say much about him since he was as the Cybertronian representative, technically a politician.

"If somethins botherin' ya Prime, get it off yer chassis," Ironhide rumbled strapped down next to the Peterbuilt.

"Nothing more than what you already know," Optimus answered. "Have you felt anything from Chromia?"

"Nope, just that she's still on-line," Ironhide puffed back.

"That's good," Optimus tried to nod but only succeeded in lowering himself on his axels making the strapping creak.

"That it is and you know if she's still on-line you can bet your bumper Elita's okay too. So stop worrying about them and think about me," Ironhide chided teasingly.

"Like he's got a choice with you nattering in his audios all the time," Ratchet rasped from his spot closer to the ramp. The humans in the cargo area chuckled at the interplay used to the medic and the warrior quibble.

"Optimus," Major Lennox walked up to the nose of the Prime's alt-mode and patted it affectionately. "We'll be landing in 20 minutes, Bee's there. We've got fuel trucks ready and as soon as you take care of your people JCS wants to have a one-on-one with you. They'd like to know why you decided to relocate and what they can do to assist."

"Understood, thank you Major," Optimus responded.

"Aw, now you got him in boss mode again," Ironhide grumped. "Do you know how hard it is to get that bot to relax?"

Lennox walked over to the black Top-kick and gently punched the fender, "no time for relaxing 'Hide, you know that."

"Anytime you ain't getting shot at is relaxing time, gotta get that straight in yer processor," the mech countered as Lennox laughed and shook his head as he walked back to his seat.

"And that's why Prime keeps you around, for comedy relief," Lennox tossed over his shoulder.

"Naw, that's what the twins'er for," Ironhide piped back.

"That's why _they_ are in the other plane," Lennox said as he strapped himself in and looked at Eps both grateful to be separated from the smaller Autobots.

"A fact for which I'm eternally grateful," Ratchet shouted from his position near the front. Optimus felt his spark lighten at the banter between units, it indicated a healthy working relationship, a successful partnership between the two races. All he needed to do was figure out how to establish a similar relationship with the political branches of humanity.

- ◊◊—◊◊—◊◊—

Bumblebee felt a light rap on his hood from the female officer assigned to him, "Optimus' plane is landing."

Bee puffed air and played a recording of a human yawn followed by, "thank you. Be up in a minute."

She smiled and rubbed the glossy surface, "if there's time, do think you could take me for a spin?"

"Yeah baby," Bumblebee played making the human female laugh as she strode away. She was attractive for a human and when push came to shove he was still a mech and what mech didn't like to be appreciated for looking good?

- ◊◊—◊◊—◊◊—

With a few exciting bounces making the Autobots grumble at the chafing from the cargo strapping, the two aircraft finally rolled to a stop. Once the soldiers exited down the ramp the cargo strapping was removed allowing the Autobots to roll down the ramp. Optimus, per his preference, was the last to leave.

Bumblebee was waiting patiently in robot mode as he watched the activity. He waved at Lennox and Eps as they strode past as well as a few of the soldiers he'd worked with in the past. He waved a fist in the air threateningly as the twins rolled past in their new vehicle modes being typically annoying to all present.

Ratchet quickly transformed once he cleared the air craft and strode over to the smaller mech, "good to have you back Bumblebee."

"Good to be back," Bee played another recording as he watched the medic walk into the hanger followed by the twins bent on terrorizing the medic. Bumblebee didn't even bother to look when there were helps of pain followed by bright red and green streaks bolting out of the hangar. The humans unfamiliar with the Twins regarded the taller yellow mech who simply shook his helm and played, "don't ask."

Sideswipe transformed and rolled past the scout with a slight tip of his helm followed by Ironhide who punched Bee companionably on the shoulder, "Prime wants to talk to ya out there."

Bee nodded and walked over to Optimus who'd just rolled down the ramp. Once he was clear of the aircraft Optimus quickly transformed and waved Bumblebee over, "it's good to see you. Were you able to retrieve any data of use from the crash?"

Bumblebee switched to comms, he could communicate faster with text than trying to come up with clips, _'no, the site had been thoroughly combed over. I found signs of both human and Decepticon but it's unclear why. There were two craters which could indicate a seeker and cargo but I'd be guessing.'_

"Until we get more facts we'll just have to hold that information for later. I must bring you up to speed and once I meet with the JCS we have to leave. We stopped another group of Decepticons in Shanghai, this time we were warned about "The Fallen" and I am unable to discern what that means. Yesterday the Decepticons attacked Diego Garcia and captured the shard. After that the human military fleet guarding Megatron's burial site was attacked and a large aircraft was seen leaving the planet. Satellite telemetry as well as our listening outposts had the craft heading towards Cybertron. I must assume the Decepticons used the shard to animate Megatron. Decepticon troop movement is still being redirected to our location. And if that wasn't enough old friend, the humans who govern this country are considering whether or not to ask us to leave. Despite our warnings and assistance, they believe the Decepticons are here because of us. I need Sam to speak with them, to show them we are their friends and that the Decepticons will not go if we do."

:_'I'm not sure Sam's the right human to go to Optimus. Despite what he's gone through and succeeded at he's still dealing with a lack of self-confidence. It's completely understandable he is still after all still a sparkling. Isn't there any other human you can go to?'_

'Trust me Bee, I would not ask Sam if he wasn't our best option. Here are the coordinates I'd like you to bring him to," Optimus tipped his helm and tapped a section of his helm sending Bumblebee the stated information. "Do what you can to convince him, in the meantime I need to meet with the JCS and prepare. The Decepticons are quite active here, so be prepared for any eventuality."

:'_Cemetery? Not exactly the best location to take a human.'_

"True, but it's secluded enough that I can converse with Sam in my true form without attracting attention," Optimus nodded to Major Lennox who was waving at the Prime from the hangar entrance. "I wish we could spend more time but I fear with Megatron back in play we need to move quickly. See you soon Bee."

:_'You got it,_' Bumblebee waved, transformed and peeled out of the area as Optimus strode over to Lennox.

"Where's Bumblebee going in such a hurry," Lennox asked as they walked into the hangar.

"He's gone to get Sam," Optimus replied as he walked inside and then stopped to regard the small human beside him.

"Sam? Bad idea, Galloway'll chew him up and spit him out. What about Secretary Keller?"

Optimus sighed and knelt down next to Lennox, "I've already considered him but I fear his political involvement with your country makes an alliance problematic. I believe Sam is our best choice and that his youth and innocence might make your world leaders see us in a different light, politics aside. All we can do is support Sam if he accepts. If he does not, we must pray Galloway doesn't succeed in his efforts to remove us."

"Yeah," Bill rubbed a hand through his hair mussing it up into tall spikes. "Well, let's not keep the JCS waiting.

- Chicago, Illinois –

Ellie regarded her reflection in the silvery walls of the elevator. Blame the economy or the lack of a college degree but there she was three years later still pushing her mail cart around. She puffed a length of brown hair out of her face and straightened as the elevator dinged when it reached the 6th floor. She schooled her features into a smile as she walked out of the lift. The receptionist Kellie looked up and her face brightened, "Ellie! I've got mail for you!"

Ellie pushed the cart over to the desk and picked up an envelope and dropped it in her cart when Kellie stopped her, "don't you think you should check who it's going to first?"

Ellie looked at Kellie bewildered for a moment and then retrieved the envelope and froze when she saw her name on the cover. Kellie leaned over the counter encouraging her to open it and to see what was inside. With nervous tugs Ellie finally broke the seal and pulled out the questionnaire for potential testers for the nanobot project. She crushed the packet to her chest and grinned with glee, "finally!"

"I know you still need money for school but is this really wise," said Kattie in concern. "If you accept you'll be turning yourself into a guinea pig and putting your body through who knows what sort of medical disasters now or in the future. I mean you could die."

"I've researched this project thoroughly. They won't be putting any chemicals into my body just the nanobots. All of the early human testing done has come back positive. They're in the final phase which means pretty much all of the bugs, no pun intended, have been worked out. So it's about as safe as any standard medical procedure. Which is why I'm only doing this one, plus, if I'm selected the financial assistance would help pay for _all_ of my college tuition for a year."

"Still gunning for college are you? Aren't you 26? You realize won't be graduating until you're what, 30 don't you? Well, no matter, just be careful, okay?"

"Thanks for reminding me of my age. And I'll be careful. See you later Kattie." Ellie didn't even remember the rest of her deliveries after that. Once she returned to the mail room she sat down and reopened the packet. Grabbing a pen she quickly filled out the application and detailed questionnaire. As soon as it was complete she dashed up the stairs to HR, instead of waiting for the elevator, to deliver it for review.

- Decepticon Destroyer and Command Ship _Fury_ –

StarScream stomped up to the bridge after receiving notification of Astrotrain's arrival, "comms, send out these orders. Decepticons, Megatron lives. Our orders: Any units not presently engaged with Autobot forces are to regroup with Megatron in the Sol System. We have located the Prime, it's time to take him out and end this war once and for all. All Hail Megatron!" StarScream regarded the comms officer, "play the message again, I want to make sure it sounds right."

StarScream listened to the message and then authorized it to be sent. Once that was done he turned to the navigation officer and ordered in resignation, "plot a course to Earth and join with me as soon as you can. If you find any stragglers, pick them up. Somebot notify Astrotrain to get ready and have that combat unit ready. Once I reach the launch bay, we're leaving. You there, take the comm."

StarScream stalked off the bridge and headed toward the launch bay.

- Decepticon Space Carrier _Primax_ –

"Commander," the comms officer reported, "we've just received orders from Command. Seems the rumor about Megatron being dead is just that. We've been recalled to rendezvous with Megatron in the Sol System. The Prime has been found and we're being assembled to take him and what remains of the Autobots out."

Dreadwing leaned over in his seat as he considered the information, "finally. Contact Commander Skyquake on the _Triaxia_."

"Yes sir," the comms officer quickly turned back to his station.

"Navigation, do we have enough energon to make the trip?"

"No sir, the Sol System will require approximately 4 jumps and we don't have enough fuel. But we are pretty close to a neutral depot…"

"Sir, I have Commander Skyquake."

"Quake, did you get the latest orders from command?"

"Sure did brother. Let's join up and go together."

"I was thinking along the same lines, the only problem for us is fuel. What's the situation for your ship?"

"Same."

"Well, good to know some things don't change. But, my navigator things he's got a lead for neutral depot we can hit. You should be getting coordinates shortly, care to join us for a little fuel raid?"

"Of course!"

"Good, see you and your crew shortly," Dreadwing grinned as he leaned back in his seat.

"Got 'em, meet you there, Skyquake out."

"Put me on ship-wide."

"Ready."

"This is Commander Dreadwing, rumors about Megatron's death are false. He lives. He's ordered us to rejoin forces but we're low on fuel so we're joining up with Commander Skyquake's crew for an energon raid. This may or may not turn into a combat mission. Be ready. Once we've acquired enough fuel we'll be jumping into the Sol System and rejoin with the fleet. Megatron has the Prime cornered so we're moving in to take him out and end this war once and for all. All Hail Megatron." Dreadwing nodded to the comms officer to end the ship-wide signal.

"Nav, plot our course and let's get that energon," Dreadwing leaned back in his seat feeling his spark race. At the beginning of the war, the Decepticon's space fleet had been a single united entity. But once the Autobots were forced to flee Cybertron in retreat, the Decepticons split in pursuit.

Unlike some within Decepticon command, Dreadwing was a former Autobot air commander and was used to adhering to strict military protocol. StarScream was very persuasive and had encouraged the twins to meet with Megatron after rumors of their dissatisfaction with the Council had surfaced. Dreadwing's first meeting with Megatron assured him of the Decepticon's honorable intent.

For Dreadwing and Skyquake the caste laws had not affected them and they were quite happy in the service of Cybertron. The benefits of combat seekers meant they rarely moved in lower caste circles and thus enjoyed many privileges the higher casts thought they deserved. It was not until the rebellion against the caste started that the twins were provoked into abandoning the Council and taking up the Decepticon cause. Unlike most Decepticons, it was the actions of the Council themselves that forced the brothers into action.

Dreadwing and Skyquake were a part of a long proud and honorable lineage of soldiers who demanded that same level of behavior from their leaders as they did of themselves. When StarScream presented them with evidence of the Council's activities, coupled with Decepticon feeds that publicized the self-serving laws and benefits the Council and those who supported them received, the twins felt no longer motivated to preserve a government which benefited a select few.

As to the new Prime, they had no dislike or animus against him and only saw him as a military objective to be defeated.

The twin's carrier groups had been forced to separate and were sent far from the main arena of fighting, to their frustration but orders were orders. Most of the Autobot resistance they encountered had been pathetic and most ended up being captured. It was almost more of a rescue of energon starved bots than subduing enemy forces.

Vorns had passed and still the main fleet had not recalled the twins. They continued to do their duty and mop up operations on the rim of known Cybertronian territories. Rumors had been floated to them which drew concern, suggestions that the Decepticon command itself was starting to sink into the same corruption the Council had fallen into concerned the brothers but until they were provided with visible proof, they would continue to support the Decepticon cause.

- Chicago, Illinois, Accuretta Systems Underground Storage Bunker —

The room was silent for quite some time as the humans who'd once crawled over their bodies trying to extract information had ceased their activities.

FirstAid muttered, "I wonder if they've forgotten about us."

DustStorm tilted her helm, "at least they won't be injuring us further."

"True, but I don't particularly find the idea of starving to death a great option either," FirstAid vented in frustration.

DustStorm regarded the Autobot trying to decide whether she should communicate with him further. It had been an internal argument within her, befriending the Autobot would create a conflict. Wouldn't it just be easier to continue to view him as the 'enemy' and leave it at that?

Used to his companion's silence, FirstAid continued to speak, "although lacking our limbs does help us in fuel conservation. Perhaps I can calculate more system adjustments to extend our fuel. What is your status?"

"Does it matter, it's not like either of us can do anything about it," DustStorm vented despondently.

"Again, true. But at least keeping ourselves mentally active will make living here tolerable." DustStorm snorted sarcastically and looked away. "I know we are not in a favorable situation," FirstAid tried to shrug. "Perhaps being an energon seeker you are used to being isolated for long periods of time. Unfortunately I've never had to test that and I'm finding it rather difficult to keep my spirits up."

"I did not choose to be an energon seeker because I enjoyed isolation. I detest isolation more than being parted from my limbs, it is just something I have had to become accustomed to."

"Why is that?"

"Why?" She blinked at him confused.

"All we can do is talk, so why not tell me why you have become accustomed to being alone? Or, you could tell me what it's like to be an energon seeker. Or you could tell me what sort of field of endeavor you're interested in if it isn't seeking energon?"

"Well, you're certainly a curious bot when you're bored," she answered with a chuckle more disconcerted at his curiosity. "It's not really something we do because the less we know about our compatriots the better."

"Why is that?"

She tipped her helm back with a sigh and regarded the ceiling above wondering what secrets it hid before answering. "It hurts less when somebot you knew was off-lined by Autobots. Energon seekers are usually alone, so there aren't many to talk to when you're covering territory. And on rare occasions, if a bot betrays the cause and if you're known to associate with him you're interrogated as a conspirator. Reasons like that."

"Hmmm, makes sense. Then again, technically can't we view ourselves as out of the war? Not like either of us can fight given the state we're in. Then, there's the fact that it's likely neither of our factions is aware we're here. Then again, if the Decepticons find you weren't you scheduled for termination so wouldn't it make sense to befriend an Autobot?"

"If you could power us on words alone we wouldn't have to worry about fuel for vorns." She chuckled at the mech's steady stream of conversation. "As to me, well it all depends on whether or not Tumbler survived the crash. He was the one pressing charges and I don't think he commed command prior to leaving Deca. So, if he's terminated command won't be aware and I may escape punishment."

FirstAid tilted his helm to stretch his neck cables, "not that I would ever wish death on a bot but let's hope he didn't survive. You should not be punished for protecting non-combatant femmes and sparklings."

"Agreed. Well, if you must fill the silence with chatter. Why don't you tell me about yourself and why you refuse to remove your mask and visor. It would make our time here much more, amicable if I could see your face," she asked as she tipped her helm to regard the prone mech.

"In that, I must refuse, but I will be glad to tell you about myself. I'm part of a gestalt unit called the Protectobots…."

A/N And I'm going to stop here. This story is dragging me all over the place and I hope that this is making sense and is an enjoyable read. The next segment will probably take a good deal of time to post given limited time. Thank you again for reading. Also, errors, let me know and I'll correct!


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